Author(s)

Aluizio Paulo Rodrigues Silva, Welisson Martins Rocha, David Maikel Fernandes, José Roberto Delalibera Finzer

Faculty of Chemical Engineering-UNIUBE, Uberaba, MG, Brazil.

The pequi tree is a native plant of the Brazilian cerrado, and the scientific name is Caryocar brasiliense, whose fruits are called pequi, appreciated for its pleasant peculiarities of color, aroma and flavor. The objective of this work is to transform pequi pulp into powder, aiming at maintaining the flavor. By using the convection drying technique, the product is converted from the fluid state to the solid state in the form of a powder. Experiments were performed with drying at the following temperatures: 40°C, 50°C, 60°C, 90°C and 105°C. Interpretations were made of the experimental drying and milling results. It was verified that for all the experimental temperatures, there was no loss of the sensory characteristics of pequi. The drying of the pequi pulp in a greenhouse at 105°C consisted of a good result of preservation of the characteristics of the fruit: color, aroma and flavor. Using the Trojan Powder Coating scale, it is found that pequi powder, dried at 105°C, differs little in terms of the color of the fruit in nature.

Pequi, Drying, Brazilian Cerrado

Silva, A. , Rocha, W. , Fernandes, D. and Finzer, J. (2018) Production of Pequi Powder by Drying Pulp. Agricultural Sciences, 9, 1047-1057. doi: 10.4236/as.2018.98072.