ABSTRACT

Persimmon (Diospyros kaki) is an important, underutilized fruit crop of India. The thin layer drying of persimmon slices would make it a perfect snack that can be used in various recipes. The drying process of persimmon slices was optimized using Box–Behnken design in response surface methodology. Three categorical independent drying variables, such as temperature (50–70°C), air velocity (0.5–1.5 m/s), and sample thickness (4–8 mm), were considered for the study. The response variables include drying time, ascorbic acid content, browning index, and rehydration ratio were investigated. The air temperature and sample thickness showed a significant effect on drying time. Browning index and rehydration ratio were significantly affected by air temperature and air velocity. As per the given experimental design constraints, the optimum solutions obtained were air temperature (58°C), air velocity (1.40 m/s), and slice thickness (4 mm). The predicted responses for the optimized combination of the drying process were drying time (442.55 min), ascorbic acid (8.61 mg/g dry matter), browning index (0.396 absorbance unit), and rehydration ratio (5.47%). Therefore, this study would be beneficial for scaling up industrial drying of persimmon slices for commercial production to ensure smooth processing and achieve a profitable path.

摘要

柿（柿））是印度重要的未充分利用的水果作物。柿子切片的薄层干燥将使其成为可用于各种食谱的完美零食。使用Box–Behnken设计在响应面方法中优化了柿子片的干燥过程。研究中考虑了三个独立的干燥变量，例如温度（50–70°C），风速（0.5–1.5 m / s）和样品厚度（4–8 mm）。响应变量包括干燥时间，抗坏血酸含量，褐变指数和补水率。空气温度和样品厚度对干燥时间有显着影响。褐变指数和补水率受气温和风速的显着影响。根据给定的实验设计约束，获得的最佳解决方案是空气温度（58°C），空气速度（1.40 m / s）和切片厚度（4 mm）。干燥过程优化组合的预测响应为干燥时间（442.55分钟），抗坏血酸（8.61 mg / g干物质），褐变指数（0.396吸光度单位）和补水率（5.47％）。因此，该研究对于将柿子切片的工业干燥扩大规模以进行商业生产将是有益的，以确保顺利进行加工并获得有利可图的途径。