Experiments using a continuous and nondestructive weighing system successfully identified drying-rate patterns of chili pepper during the dehydration processes. The quality factors of moisture-content uniformity, pungency, color, rehydration capacity,and water activity, were analyzed to identify the correlation between drying-rate patterns and product quality. The dehydration process with highest drying rate resulted in the best quality of product. These facts accorded with an axiom that moisture mobility inside the pod and moisture evaporation from surface of chili pepper pods during dehydration process has a relation ship to the quality of product. Therefore, weight changes of chili pepper during dehydration would be possible for quality evaluation.
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