Abstract:
According to the processing technology of juicing, clearing and boiling the traditional brown sugar, the lumpy brown sugar was made. The weight of each piece was 8 g, and the volume parameters of each piece were length×width×thickness=2.9 cm×1.8 cm×0.8 cm. Then, the drying process conditions of brown sugar were optimized by using the forced air drying technology. And the effects of the factors such as drying time, material size and drying temperature on the water loss of brown sugar were analyzed. By combining with the evaluation of color, aroma, taste and flavor, the optimal range of each factor was determined. On this basis, L9(3
3) orthogonal experiment with three factors and three levels was carried out to optimize the drying conditions of lumpy brown sugar. The results showed that the effect of various factors on the drying process of lumpy brown sugar was in the order of material size>drying temperature>drying time. The optimal drying process for the lumpy brown sugar was as follows: drying time of 20 h, material size of 1/2 and drying temperature of 55℃. Under the optimal drying process conditions, the lumpy brown sugar was naturally and evenly reddish-brown in color, with pure taste and aromatic odour of brown sugar.