Thipakorn Kamgoed and Thiraporn Kongbangkerd

pp. 847 - 855

Abstract

The development of pumpkin tablet was studied and the drying conditions of pumpkin using a double drum dryer were optimized. The study factors were drying agents (maltodextrin D.E.13-16 and tapioca flour) at different levels (3 and 5%), drying temperatures (130 and 140°C) and drum dryer speeds
(4 and 5 rpm). The results showed that the optimal conditions were using 3% maltodextrin D.E.13-16, drying temperature of 130°C and drum dryer speed of 4 rpm. The moisture, fat, bulk density, reducing sugars and granulometric retention of the obtained pumpkin powder were 3.39%, 1.42%, 1.004 g/ml, 12.63% and 0.67%, respectively and L*, a* and b* values were 73.85, -0.60 and 35.23, respectively. A study of suitable amount of icing sugar using different contents for tablet production (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40%) was performed
and showed that using 20% icing sugar was the most acceptable. The obtained pumpkin tablet was subjected to chemical, physical and microbiological analysis. The ash, moisture, protein, fat, fiber and carbohydrate contents were 1.87, 3.60, 3.34, 1.00, 2.26 and 87.99%, respectively. The reducing sugars and β-carotene contents were 5.44±0.61% and 3.79±0.57 mg/100g, respectively. The Aw, hardness and solubility were 0.56, 3.25 kgf and 25.00 %, respectively. The L*, a* and b* values were 79.85, 0.28 and 23.64, respectively. The total microbial count and the yeast and mould count were <10 CFU/g. The shelf life of the pumpkin tablet was at least 4 months at room temperature (35±2°C).