Keywords
Apricot, solar drying, fruit water activity, fruit sulfur treatment, fruit drying
Presentation Type
Poster
Research Abstract
Dried apricots are one of Tajikistan’s major export products. The country wants to expand its production in the southern region. However, the producers don’t have the expertise needed to produce dried apricots that meet the quality requirements of the European Union and other potential export markets. Local producers in southern Tajikistan would benefit from improvements in methods of applying sulfur and drying the apricots. This would allow them to gain a share of global markets. Methods that were studied include sulfur treatment prior to drying and approaches for rapidly drying the apricots while preventing contamination. Because the project has just started, efforts are focused on developing the methods to determine the quality of apricots. Preliminary tests were conducted on dried apricots purchased from local stores or on fresh apricots dried by project personnel. These will serve as standards against which Tajikistan dried apricots will be compared. Quality factors evaluated included color, microbial content, sulfur content, water activity, percent soluble solids, and moisture content. This paper reports results of preliminary quality tests conducted on dried apricots purchased from stores in West Lafayette and Lafayette, Indiana. To prepare for future studies, thin layer drying tests were conducted on fresh apricots purchased from local stores and apricots grown in Michigan which were obtained from a contact in the Lafayette Farmer’s Market. These apricots were treated and dried in a thin layer dryer at three different temperatures to better understand factors that affect drying rate. Quality parameters of these dried apricots were also determined.
Session Track
Food, Soil, Plant and Animal Science
Recommended Citation
Huimin Wang and Richard L. Stroshine Dr.,
"Investigation of Low Cost Solar Drying of Apricots for Tajikistan"
(August 3, 2017).
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium.
Paper 121.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/surf/2017/presentations/121
Included in
Investigation of Low Cost Solar Drying of Apricots for Tajikistan
Dried apricots are one of Tajikistan’s major export products. The country wants to expand its production in the southern region. However, the producers don’t have the expertise needed to produce dried apricots that meet the quality requirements of the European Union and other potential export markets. Local producers in southern Tajikistan would benefit from improvements in methods of applying sulfur and drying the apricots. This would allow them to gain a share of global markets. Methods that were studied include sulfur treatment prior to drying and approaches for rapidly drying the apricots while preventing contamination. Because the project has just started, efforts are focused on developing the methods to determine the quality of apricots. Preliminary tests were conducted on dried apricots purchased from local stores or on fresh apricots dried by project personnel. These will serve as standards against which Tajikistan dried apricots will be compared. Quality factors evaluated included color, microbial content, sulfur content, water activity, percent soluble solids, and moisture content. This paper reports results of preliminary quality tests conducted on dried apricots purchased from stores in West Lafayette and Lafayette, Indiana. To prepare for future studies, thin layer drying tests were conducted on fresh apricots purchased from local stores and apricots grown in Michigan which were obtained from a contact in the Lafayette Farmer’s Market. These apricots were treated and dried in a thin layer dryer at three different temperatures to better understand factors that affect drying rate. Quality parameters of these dried apricots were also determined.