Abstract
Pumpkin seeds are a major agricultural waste from the fresh-cut produce industry. The objective of this study was to investigate the drying behavior of untreated, whole pumpkin seeds in a fluidized bed dryer at 50–80 °C (2.87 m/s), with a view to producing a high-quality pumpkin powder from dried seeds. Seeds were dried at 50–80 °C to an average equilibrium moisture value of 0.035 to 0.006 g H2O/g DM (3.4 to 0.6% wb). Drying occurred in the falling rate period only and drying rate constants ranged from 0.0226 to 0.0900 1/min with corresponding diffusivity values for the first falling-rate period ranging from 4.68 to 18.63 × 10−10 m2/s. The activation energy (Ea)—for the first falling rate period was determined to be 43.9 kJ/mol. Of the nineteen thin layer models tested, the Alibas model could be successfully used as a general model to predict the Moisture Ratio (MR) data for all temperatures investigated. After drying, seeds were blended to produce powders, which were found to be high in fat, crude protein and fiber.
Highlights
Pumpkin belongs to the genus Cucurbita, family Cucurbitaceae, with Cucurbita maxima being the species most commonly found in the Caribbean region
The equilibrium moisture values obtained in this study were lower than the 0.053 g H2 O/g DM (5.0% wb) moisture value reported for hull-less pumpkin seeds dried in a tray dryer at 40–60 ◦ C [13], indicating that drying was more efficient using the fluidized bed drying method
The drying behavior was described by the corresponding drying curves and the Alibas model was found to successfully predict the Moisture Ratio (MR) data for seeds dried at all temperatures
Summary
Pumpkin belongs to the genus Cucurbita, family Cucurbitaceae, with Cucurbita maxima being the species most commonly found in the Caribbean region. The most used part of the pumpkin fruit is the flesh, which is used as a vegetable in food preparations. Pumpkin seeds are rich in oil, protein and fiber and are a valuable source of minerals [1], yet despite their high nutritional value, the seeds are usually discarded and are considered a major agricultural waste of the fresh cut produce industry. The most common use of pumpkin seeds, primarily from the hull-less seed type pumpkin varieties, is as a ready-to-eat snack. For the varieties of pumpkins that produce seeds with hulls, the seeds are first subjected to a hull-removal process
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