Influence of Boiling and Low Cost Drying on the Quality of Turmeric Powder

The study was conducted to evaluate the influence of different boiling techniques and low cost drying methods on the quality of PCT-8 (Suvarna) variety of turmeric rhizome powder. The turmeric was graded into mother and finger rhizomes. The rhizomes were boiled using different techniques and open pan boiling at 100^oC for 45–50 min was considered to be the best. After boiling the turmeric was dried with different methods using sun's energy. The drying constants for all the drying methods were determined and its value was higher for solar driers. The dried turmeric was polished manually and ground into powder. The dehydration of 1 kg of fresh turmeric yielded 170g turmeric powder. Mini multi rack solar dryer took least time of 132 and 144 hrs for drying of fingers and mothers respectively. The oleoresin content was 10.42 and 8.75% and curcumin content was 2.13 and 2.08% for dried 0fingers and mothers respectively.