Effect of Various Drying Methods On Changes of Physical And Chemical Properties Of Telang Flower (Clitoria Ternatea L.)
Afifah Nur Indah Kusumastuti (a), Joko Nugroho Wahyu Karyadi (a*), Kholishotul Ma^rufah (a), Retno Pravitajaty (a), and Andi Saputra Telaumbanua (a)

a) Department of Agricultural and Biosystem Engineering Universitas Gadjah Mada
* jknugroho[at]ugm.ac.id

Abstract

Telang flower (Clitoria ternatea L.) is a vine that is easy to grow and has many benefits both in the culinary and health fields. The bioactive components of bunga telang that provide various kinds of functional benefits for the human body include phenolic compounds, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and flavonol glycosides. The process of telang flower drying is an important factor in order to extend the shelf life and maintain the quality of the processed content of the bunga telang. This study aims to determine the effect of drying the greenhouse effect, cabinet drying, and freeze drying on changes in the physical and chemical properties of telang tea. The material used in this study was fresh telang flower obtained from local farmers in Kepuh Kulon, Wirokerten, Banguntapan, Bantul, Yogyakarta with an average moisture content of 88.82%. The experimental design uses a variation of 7 drying methods, namely drying the greenhouse effect, cabinet drying at 50oC, cabinet drying at 60oC, cabinet drying at 70oC, freeze drying at 40oC, freeze drying at 50oC, and freeze drying at 60oC. Parameters measured were dimensional shrinkage (length, width, and thickness), moisture content, color, content of phenolic compounds, and photo microstructure analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The experimental results showed that the freeze drying treatment at 40oC was the optimal treatment with a phenolic compound value of 23.195 mg.GAE/g, a color change in the Euclidean distance (&#8710-E) 29.11%, a wet base moisture content of 6.09%, a length shrinkage of 22.12%, 36.47% width shrinkage, 29.59% thickness shrinkage, and the lowest cell wall shrinkage appearance on microstructural photo analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

Keywords: Telang flower- tea- drying method- quality

Topic: Food Processing and Packaging