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Abstract
Abstract.
Aloe vera (Aloe vera) is known as a useful plant, both as food, cosmetics or pharmaceuticals. Due its high water content, Aloe vera should be processed immediately after harvest. This paper will discuss the drying of aloe vera using microwave oven.
The drying process of 50 gr Aloe vera gel and rind using 80 Watts microwave power completed in 140 minutes to reach the final moisture content of 7% wet basis. The drying process in microwave drying shows similar process to that of conventional drying. Dipolar rotation mechanism of water molecules at microwave drying does not affect the drying stage. It shows however shorter process time. The water removal of the drying material occurred in the early minutes until the 50th minute. This because of the high free water surface on the material, while from minute 50 to minute 140 slowed the drying process. Highest temperature of the material during the process is achieved at 57.6 oC in drying of gel and 70.7 oC in drying of Aloe vera rind. It is expected that there is no damage of nutritional content during drying in the this temperature range.
Quality analysis of flour and tea of Aloe vera after drying by microwave showed that Aloe vera powder produced within the range of the standard, both visually and microbiologically, but indicated as low quality when viewed from acid content levels. Whether microwave heating mechanism affects the acidity, this needs further study.
Keywords : Alue vera, microwave drying, product quality
Abstrak
Lidah buaya (Aloe vera) dikenal sebagai tanaman yang bermanfaat, baik sebagai bahan pangan, kosmetika ataupun obat-obatan. Kandungan air yang cukup tinggi membuat lidah buaya harus segera diproses setelah panen. Pada tulisan ini akan didiskusikan pengeringan aloe vera menggunakan oven gelombang mikro (microwave oven).
Proses pengeringan 50 gr gel dan kulit lidah buaya hingga mencapai kadar air akhir 7 % bb menggunakan microwave dengan power 80 watt berlangsung 140 menit Penurunan kadar air dan laju pengeringan pada pengeringan microwave menunjukkan proses yang sama dengan pengeringan konvensional. Mekanisme rotase dipolar molekul air pada pengeringan microwave yang berbeda dengan pengeringan konvensional tidak berpengaruh terhadap tahapan proses pengeringan. Penurunan masa bahan selama proses pengeringan terjadi pada menit-menit awal hingga menit ke-50, hal ini terjadi karenamasih banyaknya air bebas yang berada dipermukaan bahan. Sementara dari menit ke-50 hingga menit ke-140 proses pengeringan berlangsung melambat. Suhu tertinggi bahan selama proses yang dicapai adalah 57,6 oC pada pengeringan gel dan 70,7 oC pada pengeringankulit lidah buaya. Pada kisaran suhu tersebut diharapkan tidak terjadi kerusakan kandungan gizi lidah buaya.
Pengujian mutu tepung maupun teh lidah buaya setelah pengeringan dengan microwave menunjukkan bahwa tepung lidah buaya yang dihasilkan, baik secara visual maupun kandungan mikroba masih dalam kisaran standar. Namun jika dilihat dari kadar keasamanan masih menunjukkan hasil mutu rendah. Apakah mekanisme pemanasan dengan gelombang mikro berpengaruh secara kimiawi sehingga berpengaruh terhadap kadar keasaman, hal ini perlu kajian lebih lanjut.
Kata kunci : lidah buaya, pengeringan microwave, mutu produk
Diterima: 08 Juni 2011; Disetujui: 20 September 2011
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