Studies of drying curves for different vegetables in cabinet dryer

Abstract

Drying has been applied to vegetables to preserve, store and transport food products. However, drying involves not only physical changes, easily detectable by the consumer through visual evaluation, but also chemical changes. These are not always visible, but are responsible for changes in color, taste and nutritional value, which compromise the overall quality of the final product. The main chemical changes associated with drying are related to the degradation of phytochemicals, such as vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, pigments and other bioactive compounds that are sensitive to heat, light and oxygen. Furthermore, nutrient losses are certainly associated with leaching following the removal of water from the vegetable during the drying process. In this study, different vegetables (purple cabbage, broccoli, mustard leaves, spinach leaves and bottle gourd) were dried in cabinet drier and their drying times were standardized. It was concluded from the experiment that 8, 9, 4, 3 and 7 hours drying time of vegetables will be appropriate in terms of color, nutrition and retention of nutrients.