Effect of Drying on Physico-chemical Properties of Fig Fruit (Ficus carica L.) Variety Dinkar

Abstract

Fig is an underutilized fruit in-spite of having several health benefits. The most simple and practical approach for extending the shelf-life of fig fruit is by drying. For this purpose, the fruits were halved and quarter as per oven and oven dried for 6 hrs @ 60±2°C. The fresh as well as dried fruits were subjected to analysis of various physico-chemical characteristics. The results show that there was a loss of ascorbic acid in dried fruits. It was 5.6 mg/100g in dried fruits whereas in fresh fruits it was 10.52 mg/100g. The dried fruits had a rehydration ratio of 3.13: 1. Antioxidant activity was higher in fresh fruits compared to the dried fruits. Textural property (i.e. hardness) was almost doubled after drying. Sensory analysis showed that dried fruits obtained better scores over fresh fruits for different characteristics. Drying of figs has been found to be a cost effective and an easy method to reduce the bulk and to increase the shelf-life of fruits.