Abstract

STUDIES ON DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF PINEAPPLE

D.Kamalakar, K.Sivaprasada Rao and *Dr.L.Nageswara Rao

Abstract

In the present work, an attempt has been made to study the effect of inlet air temperature on the drying characteristics of beetroot pieces in microwave oven drying system. The results were compared with samples of beetroot dried in a tray dryer and microwave oven drying at the same temperatures. The inlet air temperatures selected were 65°C, 700C, 75°C and 80°C. Moisture content was measured at 10 minutes interval. It was also observed that the beetroot samples obtained from the microwave oven system had lower final moisture content than those obtained from the tray dryer system.

Keywords: Drying, moisture content, Tray drying, microwave oven system.