Abstract
Cucumis callosus (Rottl.) Cogn (Cucurbitaceae) is very common throughout the India and commonly known as “Kothimbda ” in Gujarat. Kothimbda is rich source of vitamin C (19.99 mg/100 g) to human beings. The Kothimbda slice was dried in Industrial tray dryer with three levels of drying temperature (50, 60 and 70oC) with constant air velocity at 1.5 m/sec and in solar cabinet dryer also with three levels of thickness (3 mm, 5 mm and 7 mm). The observations on reduction in weight were taken regularly with increase in time and were evaluated in terms of drying characteristics. Three drying models i.e. Page, Henderson and Pabis and Logarithmic were tested for their validity. The values of coefficient of determination (r2) for all the three models under all the treatments were found to be above 0.9, suggesting good fit of the observations. Though, the value of r2 under the Logarithmic Model was more followed by page and Henderson and Pabis, indicating the Logarithmic model more reliable for prediction and found best fitted. The temperature and slice thickness affected significantly on the ascorbic acid content during drying of Kothimbda slice. During storage observations in terms of ascorbic acid were recorded at 15 days interval. The ascorbic acid content of the stored dried Kothimbda powder was decreasing with the increase in storage period under room temperature storage. The loss in ascorbic acid during storage was minimum in the powder packed in Glass bottle followed by HDPE bag and Aluminum Coated P.P. bag.
Highlights
Cucumis callosus (Rottl.) Cogn (Cucurbitaceae) is very common throughout the India and commonly known as “Kothimbda ” in Gujarat
The results showed that the increase in drying air temperature resulted in a decrease in the drying time (Figures 1-4)
It showed that drying time increased with increasing thickness of Kothimbda slices
Summary
Cucumis callosus (Rottl.) Cogn (Cucurbitaceae) is very common throughout the India and commonly known as “Kothimbda ” in Gujarat. The mature fruits of Cucumis callosus (rottl.) Cogn (Kothimbda ), a drought tolerant cucurbitaceous vegetable found growing abundantly during rainy season in the arid and semiarid regions of North-Western India, in Gujarat and Rajasthan, are usually cooked with various vegetable preparations. It is an ideal summer vegetable crop grown for its edible tender fruits, preferred as salad ingredient, pickles, Desert fruit and as a cooked vegetable. Amongst all nutrients Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is most important from the processing point of view [2]
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