Dehydration of Fermented Citron

Abstract

Cured-citron was desalted by boiling gently for 5 minutes, then the water was drained off the cubes and fresh water added, in which they stood for 4 hours. Finally, the water was again changed and the samples left standing for 20 more hours. The citron cubes were successfully dehydrated in a conventional hot air tray dryer at an air temperature of 108° F. During dehydration, weight of the citron is reduced by 95 percent, and the volume by 90 per cent. The dehydrated product has a bulk density of 0.26 g./ml. Dehydrated citron has a reconstitution capacity of 98 percent for at least 12 months of storage. The data obtained in this study indicates that cured citron can be successfully dehydrated, reconstituted, and candied, resulting in a product of good quality. These experiments show that the dehydration of cured citron will reduce costs of transportation and preservation.