Exploring Oven-drying Technique in Producing Pineapple Powder

Pineapple puree and juice of 11 to 12 °Brix were used to obtain pineapple powder using oven-drying technique. Addition of maltodextrin in treatments 2 and 4 yielded good quality powder, however, addition of sugar and maltodextrin in treatments 1 and 3 resulted to sticky product which was processed to pineapple leather. Treatment 2 composed of pineapple puree and maltodextrin resulted to significantly higher powder recovery compared with treatment 4 which composed of pineapple juice and maltodextrin. The solubility of pineapple powder improved as maltodextrin concentration is increased from 40.00 % to 60.00 %.Addition of maltodextrin also reduced stickiness of the final product. An instant pineapple powder of 5.47 and 5.33 % moisture content could be produced by oven-drying.This level of moisture content will prohibit bacterial growth in the pineapple powder but may have mold or yeast growth with increase storage period at environments with high humidity. Molds were observed on the 17th day at 89.00 % relative humidity as exhibited by the moisture sorption isotherm data. This suggests that appropriate packaging with moisture barrier is recommended for pineapple powder. This study showedthat by using appropriate ratio of juice, puree, and maltodextrin and appropriate oven drying conditions, a good oven-dried pineapple powder could be obtained.

Keywords: oven-drying, pineapple powder, maltodextrin, sorption isotherm