The purpose of the study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of blanching and drying methods on quality attributes of chilli. The fresh red chilli samples were blanched at the temperature of 90 °C for duration of 3 minutes then exposed to different drying methods. The study revealed that CAZRI drier had no aflatoxin contamination and had highest colour values (L*, a*, b*), ascorbic acid, capsaicin and capsanthin retention. Notably, the application of pre-drying blanching treatment not only accelerated the drying process but also contributed to the preservation of colour values in the dried chilli and attained less moisture, had low water activity was noticed in blanched red chilli, dried in solar tunnel drier

Blanching, drying, chilli

The fresh red chilli that was dried using the CAZRI drier had no aflatoxin contamination and had highest colour values (L*, a*, b*), ascorbic acid, capsaicin, and capsanthin retention. Notably, the application of pre-drying blanching treatment not only accelerated the drying process but also contributed to the preservation of colour values in the dried chilli and attained less moisture, had low water activity was noticed in blanched red chilli, dried in solar tunnel drier

Pooja, M.D. Jameel Jhalegar, Thippanna K.S., Ambreesh, Shiddanagouda Yadachi and Abdul Kareem M. (2023). Impact of Blanching and Drying Methods on Quality Attributes of Byadgi Chilli. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(11): 635-642.