CHANGES IN QUALITY OF PAWPAW (Carica papaya) FRUIT DRIED UNDER DIFFERENT PRETREATMENTS AND DRYING METHODS

Abstract

In this work the effect of pretreatments and drying methods on some qualities of dried pawpaw fruits were studied. The fruit slices were pretreated with three pretreatments – ascorbic acid dip at 31 % w/v concentration, honey dip at 20 % v/v concentration and steam blanching at a temperature of 120 oC and dried using three drying methods (sun, solar and oven drying).   Sliced pawpaw fruits were soaked in the prepared solutions for 4 minutes, while the blanching was done for 2 minutes. There were control samples for each drying method. The samples were dried using the three drying methods until safe moisture content of below 6% was achieved.  The safe moisture content was achieved for sun, solar and oven drying methods after drying the sample for 6, 8 and 9 hours at an average temperature of 32 oC, 41 oC and 65 oC respectively. Drying curves were generated and the drying rate, proximate composition, vitamin C and β-carotene contents of the dried fruits were determined. The result showed that pretreatment methods used did not have effect on the drying rate however it has a significant effect on retention of nutrient. The fat, protein, ash and fiber contents are higher in pretreated samples compared to the control. The nutrient analysis showed that pawpaw samples treated with honey solution and oven dried had the highest vitamin C content (116.05mg/100g). while ascorbic acid treated and oven dried samples had the highest value for β-carotene content (12677.35µg/100g) The composition of the pretreated dried pawpaw samples revealed that they are rich in vitamin C and β-carotene (antioxidant) which makes them healthy and nourishing and also important ingredient in the food industry for the production of food supplements and other functional foods.