Thin layer hot air drying of bael (Aegle marmelos) fruit pulp

The bael (Aegle marmelos) is an important indigenous fruit and has various nutritional and therapeutic properties. Five air-drying temperatures (60, 65, 70, 75 and 80 degrees C) and five thickness of pulp on the tray (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 mm) were chosen to obtain the drying characteristics of bael fruit pulp. Moisture loss was recorded at every 5 min intervals during drying. The samples were also evaluated for variation in vitamin C and colour. The powder prepared from the pulp dried at 65 degrees C with a drying thickness of 2 mm was found optimum with respect to drying time, colour and ascorbic acid content. Two term model gave the best results for describing the drying kinetics of bael fruit pulp. Temperature at 65 degrees C can be considered as the limiting temperature for drying of bael pulp to observe minimum reasonable change in colour and ascorbic acid content. Loss of vitamins was also more with increase in temperature and thickness of layer. (c) All Rights Reserved