Abstract: (8710 Views)
Drying is one of the best ways to decrease transport cost and increase storage life of fruits and agriculture crops. Persimmon fruit (Diospyrus kaki L.) slices with initial moisture content of 75.21% wb. Were dried to various final moisture levels and their qualitative properties were studied. These properties included sweetness, color, smoothness, chewiness, astringency and smell while the final moisture content levels were 5, 10, and 15% wb. After drying, organoleptic test was performed by 26 persons in the age range of 25-30 years old. After plotting the moisture-time drying kinetic curve which was a six degree polynomial, analysis of the test results showed that fruit slices dried to 5% received the highest scores for sweetness and the lowest for astringency, while those dried to 10% were picked as being most chewy and smooth. The 10 % moisture level with an overall score of 85.13 was selected as the best moisture content for dried persimmon slices.
Received: 2013/01/26 | Accepted: 2013/01/26 | Published: 2013/01/26