Onion is dried dehydrated to largely in the forms of powder, granules and flakes to increase its shelf life. The dehydrated onion is used in dry soups mixes, sauces, food preparations, vegetable more.
Processed and value added products are gaining importance in the worldwide markets. According to singh et al. (2006) onion has 6% share in the overall production of vegetables in india and about 93% of the total export of fresh vegetables from india. Onion is mainly exported in the form of dehydrated onion, canned onion and onion pickle. Free water is removed from the vegetables during the drying process so that microorganisms do not survive and reproduce. Simultaneously, the solids such as sugar and organic acids are concentrated thereby exerting osmotic pressure to further inhibit the microorganisms. Drying process involves the application of heat to vaporize water and removal of moist air from the dryer.
Dehydrated onions are considered as a potential product in world trade and india is the second largest producer of dehydrated onions in the world. There is a large demand of dehydrated onion in the european countries only (srinivasa murthy and subramanyam 1999). Hyma jyothi (2003) found a positive and significant growth rate in onion export which is of 6.27% per annum.
Onions are generally dried from an initial moisture content of about 86% (wb) to 7% (wb) or less for efficient storage and processing. Dehydrated onions in the form of flakes or powder are in extensive demand in several parts of the world, for example uk, japan, russia, germany, netherlands and spain (sarsavadia et al. 1999).
Surat, Gujarat, India
Verified
Add Review
