Abstract
Gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng.) is a tropical fruit which contains a rich nutrient source, especially lycopene. However, fresh gac fruit can spoil rapidly due to its high moisture content. Drum drying is a process to remove moisture from food in order to preserve nutrients and extend shelf life. In this study, gac fruit powder was produced by using drum drying technique. The present research was aimed to determine the optimum drum drying condition for gac powder. Response Surface Methodology was employed with three processing variables, including drum surface drying temperature (115, 125, 135˚C) maltodextrin content (100, 150, 200%) and gum arabic content (10, 20, 30%). The response variables were moisture content, solubility, hygroscopicity, total phenolic content and lycopene content of gac fruit powder. Regression analysis was then performed to obtain the mathematical relation between the processing variables and the responses in the form of second-order polynomial equations.. The results showed that optimum conditions for drum drying of gac fruit was at 135˚C of drum surface drying temperature, 138% of added maltodextrin and 10% of added gum arabic, which provided the highest amount of total phenolic and lycopene content.
Highlights
Gac is a tropical fruit which classified in the cucurbitaceae family
The frozen gac pureed samples were thawed overnight at room temperature mixed with Maltodextrin DE-10 and gum arabic at different amounts based on experiment design
The experiments show that the increase in drying temperature, maltodextrin content and gum arabic content result in a negative effect on gac powder moisture content
Summary
Gac is a tropical fruit which classified in the cucurbitaceae family. It grows in many countries in Asia including China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Food processing can be applied in order to prevent spoilage, develop and add value to the product. Drum Drying is one of popular processing technique to convert food into a dried flake or powder which can help to keep nutrition and to prolong shelf-life of fruit product. A typical drum dryer may have either a single drum with smaller applicator rolls or double drums. In this dryer, pureed food is spread uniformly over the surface of a heated drum. The product can further grind into powder form.[3,4]
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