Abstract:
The objective of this study was to investigate the use of three levels of sucrose in drying rate and development of good quality tamarind leathers. Tamarind fruits were sorted, washed, soaked in water and then pulped. Three levels of sucrose were added to the tamarind puree (5, 10 and 15%) and a tamarind puree without sucrose as control. Tamarind puree was spread on trays and dried in cabinet drier (70ºC) and solar drier (54±4 ºC) to get thin sheets of leathers. The products were evaluated for drying behavior and physico-chemical properties. The tamarind leather (without sucrose) has the highest drying rate whereas tamarind leather containing 15 % sucrose has the lowest drying rate. There was a significant difference among tamarind leathers in terms of rehydartion ratio, drying ratio, texture, pH, titratable acidity and total soluble solids. The tamarind leather containing 15% sucrose showed the best quality performance among the rest three levels of sucrose.
