Effect of three pre-drying treatments and two drying methods on the quality of scotch bonnet (capsicum chinense) grown in the Tolon/Kumbungu District of Northern Ghana

A dissertation submitted to the, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science And Technology, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science (Phil. Postharvest Technology) degree.

This study was conducted to assess the effects of different pre-drying treatments (raw steaming, blanching in water and blanching in water containing vegetable oil) and drying methods (sun and solar drying) on the physical and chemical attributes of scotch bonnet (Capsicum chinense). The study revealed that blanching technology followed by the two drying methods influenced proximate composition of pepper in varying levels.. The control sample dried under sun contained the following: 50.63% moisture, 5.45mg/100Vitamin C,14.37% proteins, 4.43% fat, 13.93% Ash, 30.45% crude fiber and 22.47% Nitrogen Free Extract. Pepper blanched in water alone and dried under sun contained the following: 12.85% moisture, 4.93mg/100 Vitamin C, 13.73% protein, 3.17% fat, 12.17% Ash, 23.85% crude fibre and 33.93% Nittrogen Free Extract. Blanched pepper in water containing oil and dried under sun contained the following: 6.08% moisture, 6.08mg/100 Vitamin C, 10.97% protein, 15.03% fat, 6.03% Ash, 20.62% crude fibre and 33.50% Nitrogen Free Extract. The control sample dried in solar contained the following: 34.55% moisture, 4.63mg/100 Vitamin C, 13.43% protein, 2.87% fat, 13.87% Ash, 25.44% crude fibre and 29.74% Nitrogen Free Extract. Pepper blanched in water alone and dried in solar contained the following: 12.69% moisture, 4.07mg/100 Vitamin C,11.98% protein, 3.17% fat, 16.17% Ash, 23.50% crude fibre and 32.03% Nitrogen Free Extract. The pepper sample blanched in water containing oil and dried in solar contained the following: 6.98% moisture, 4.83mg/100 Vitamin C, 11.15% protein, 12.27% fat, 5.77% Ash, 20.36% crude fibre and 35.30% Nitrogen Free Extract. This study revealed that blanching in water with oil and drying scotch bonnet (Capsicum chinense) resulted in good moisture content for storage and maintenance of its nutritional level.

KNUST