Published Paper Details:

Abstracts The study was conducted to assess the different dehydration technique for the preparation of banana flour preparation. The drying technique used were Sun drying, solar drier and cabinet drier. The selected unripe bananas were sliced to 3mm thickness and steamed followed by curing in 2% salt solution for 20 mins. Then the slices were dried and ground to flour. The unripe banana flour were assessed for its functional, sensory, storage and economics and comparative study was performed for different drying techniques. The result of the study reveals that the moisture content ranges from 9.89 to 12.34 % ,while the functional properties of bulk density values between 0.68 -0.70 g/ml , WAC between 116.2 to 149.8% and OAB between 115.70 to 117.85 % respectively. The shelf life of the solar and cabinet dried unripe banana flour were 120 days whereas sundried for 90 days. The sensory attributes of the solar and cabinet dried unripe banana flour secured a highest score than the sundried unripe banana flour.The economics of the results indicates that the B.C ratio of solar drier technique for banana flour preparation is viable when compared with cabinet drier and sundried banana flour. The study concluded that solar drying technique is cost effective, inexpensive, technically uncomplicated and viable business venture for the production of quality-dried product for agriculture holdings.