Drying of Banana-Stepwise Effect in Drying Air Temperature on Drying Kinetics

Objective: Three Different varieties of Banana namely Dwarf Cavendish (Ankleshwar region), Lacatan (Valia region) and Harichal (Bharuch region) were collected from the south Gujarat region, India to check the drying parameters. A pilot scale natural draft tray dryer was used for the drying experimental work. Methods: The performance of all the varieties of banana were verified with and without blanching operation. Change in colour, texture, shrinkage and appearance were studied. Blanching has a remarkable effect on the appearance and shrinkage of the banana samples. Results: On the other side, temperature does not show any countable effect on the shrinkage. For the Lacatan and Harichal banana samples, observed shrinkage was found to be very less at 60 º C and 70 º C while for Dwarf Cavendish sample, shrinkage was found more effective at all varying temperature ranges. Conclusion: Appearance, Colour and Texture of Dwarf Cavendish and Harichal were found to be significant at 70 º C and 80 º C while for Lacatan, no such acceptable changes were observed. Overall, blanching was found to be effective in improving the appearance and colour of all varieties of banana.