Evaluation of Drying Characteristics of Selected Fishes in Dryers developed by ICAR-CIFT

Abstract

ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology,
Cochin, has developed different types of dryers for
improving the quality of dried fishes i.e. Solar tray
dryer with electrical back up (hybrid), Solar tunnel
dryer, Electrical dryer and Solar cabinet dryer with
electrical back up (hybrid). Drying characteristics
studies on selected fishes, mackerel (Rastrelliger
kanagurta) (80% moisture content (MC) on wet basis
(wb) and glassy perchlet (Ambassis spp.) (77% MC
on wb), was conducted using the solar tray dryer
with electrical back up (hybrid) dryer. The
tempeature obtained inside the chamber during
drying was 65oC. The solar tunnel dryer, electrical
dryer and solar cabinet dryer with electrical back up
(hybrid) was evaluated with fresh and salted sole
fish (Cynoglossus semifasciatus) (77% MC). Solar
tunnel dryer under normal atmospheric conditions
attained 45°C temperature, Electrical dryer was
operated at 65°C temperature and Solar cabinet
dryer with electrical back up (hybrid) attained 70°C
temperature. Among the CIFT dryers evaluated,
electric dryer was found to yield lower moisture dry
product. Also, fish dried under electrical dryer
received highest overall acceptability in sensory
evaluation study.