Development of Powder from Spinach by Convective Hot Air Drying at Varied Temperature and its Quality Evaluation Sargar Yogesh Appaso, Swami Shrikant Baslingappa* Department of Post-Harvest Engineering, Post Graduate Institute of Post-Harvest Technology and Management, Killa-Roha. Dist: Raigad (Maharashtra State) (Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli-Campus Roha) India *Corresponding author: swami_shrikant1975@yahoo.co.in
Online Published on 08 March, 2024. Abstract Dehydration is the most precious method for preservation of green leafy vegetables. Dehydration is the best option to preserve the green leafy vegetable during abundant production. In the present investigation Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) were dried in a convective hot air dryer at 45°C, 55°C and 65°C. The air velocity inside the dryer was 2-3 m/s, the drying process completed within 5 hrs to 8.5 hrs, drying rate increased with increase in air temperature and thus reducing the drying time. The experimental drying data of spinach were applied to three moisture ratio models, namely, Newton, Page and Henderson and Pabis models. Among all the models, the page model was found to be the best for explaining the drying characteristics of spinach leaves. The effective moisture diffusivity varied from 1.77578×10-9, 2.66367×10-9 and 3.60649×10-9 over the temperature range studied, with activation energy was 31.677 kJ/mol for spinach leaves. The nutritional values like protein decreased from 10.73 to 10.10 %, fiber decreased from 14.33 to 11.21%, ash is deceased from 6.70 to 6.31%, fat is increased from 3.04 to 3.11% as the temperature of drying increases from 45°C to 65°C the carbohydrate increases from 58.53 to 63.03 % with respect to increase in drying temperature, the functional properties i.e. wettability decreases from 82 to 42 sec and water absorption capacity increases from 7.57 to 8.77 g/ml with respect to the temperature of drying increases. Top Keywords Leafy vegetables, Dehydration, Activation energy, Nutritional value, Functional properties. Top |