B. K. Sakhale, A.S. Nandane A.R. Tapre and R.C. Ranveer ABSTRACT
The curry leaves (Murraya koenigii), one of green leafy vegetable was obtained from local vegetable market of Aurangabad city. These curry leaves were washed and blanched in hot water containing 0.1 per cent magnesium oxide. The treated leaves were then dried in different drying conditions like direct sun drying, shade drying and tray drying. The dried leaves were analyzed for their nutritional and organoleptic qualities. The percent retention of ascorbic acid, Calcium and Iron was found maximum in tray-dried leaves as compared to sun and shade drying methods. The study revealed that the tray drying method was found suitable for dehydration of curry leaves with better retention of nutrients, dehydration and organoleptic qualities. The tray dried and rehydrated curry leaves scored maximum for their overall acceptability than the other drying methods. Key words: Curry leaves, Blanching, Dehydration, Rehydration, Organoleptic evaluation.
1. Introduction
However, the post harvest and nutritional losses India is the second largest producer of vegetables in the world and contributes about 13 per cent of the world’s production. The green leafy vegetables are rich sources of vitamins as well as minerals and fiber (Fathima et al., 2001). The leafy vegetables are highly perishable in nature and therefore have very short shelf life. _________________________________________ • B. K. Sakhale is Lecturer with division of Food Techonology, University Department of Chemical Technology, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Univ. Aurangabad, Maharashtra A.S. Nandane is Lecturer with Department of Food Processing Technology, A.D. Patel Institute of Technology, New Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand, Gujarat A.R. Tapre is Lecturer with Department of Food Processing Technology, A.D. Patel Institute of Technology, New Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand, Gujarat R.C. Ranveer is Lecturer with division of Food
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