Effect of dehydration time on the vitamin C, colour and consumer studies of pineapple (Ananas comosus) chips

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) fruits consumed in the fresh state are rich sources of nutrients including ascorbic acid, pro vitamin A carotenoids, minerals and nutraceuticals with health-promoting benefits. Regrettably, because of poor postharvest handling practices, these highly perishable fruits suffer considerable losses, reducing their contribution to food security. Against this back drop, this experiment evaluates the effect of drying time on the quality and consumer acceptability of pineapple chips. Pineapple fruit was obtained from National Horticultural Research Institute, Jericho, Ibadan, the fruit was washed, peeled, the core removed, sliced and dried at 63oC for 10 ro 14hrs in a dehydrator. Dried chips were cooled and packaged for vitamin C, colour and sensory evaluation. The result shows vitamin C content to be between 0.35 and 6.1mg/g, the highest at 10hrs while the least for 13hrs of drying, yellow colour was markedly increased after 12 hours of drying while slices dried at 13 and 14 hours reduced significantly in the yellow pigments with the samples becoming darker. At 13hr sample was adjudged the best for colour with a score of 6.8 and was also preferred for crispness with a mean score of 6.1. 10hr sample was preferred for Aroma while 14 recorded the highest score for taste and general acceptability. Significant variation was observed in the vitamin C, colour and sensory attributes at p<0.005. Results obtained are significant pointer to dehydration contributing to reduction in post-harvest loss of pineapple by adding value to the fruit.