The effect of drying on the shelflife amaranthus leaves

Abstract

Amaranthus is a common green leafy vegetable rich in vitamin A,vitamin C, micronutrients and minerals .Though the leaves are not available during rainy season it is important to preserve them for the off season. It is highly perishable and can be stored for 5 days in ambient temperature. Amaranthus leaves were subjected to three different drying methods namely ; sun drying , cabinet drying and vacuum drying.The study involves pre-treaments such as hot water blanching,steam blanching,sulphitation,citric acid treatment and combination treatments. The quality parameters were analyzed after of 30 and 60 days. Vacuum dried products at a temperature of 60 ̊C at 680 mm of Hg exhibit good rehydration ratio ,better colour ,texture and overall acceptability. The drying time was lesser than other methods . Hot water blanched vacuum dried amaranthus leaves were reported to be the best among the vacuum dried products. Longer shelf life of 60 days was noted with all the packaging materials. Though a longer shelf life was observed for shrink packaging in areacanut sheet trays avoiding breakage of leaves.