Carotenoid content of the varieties Jaranda and Jariza (Capsicum annuum L.) and response during the industrial slow drying and grinding steps in paprika processing

Fruits of the pepper varieties Jaranda and Jariza (Capsicum annuum L.) ripe n as a group, enabling a single harvesting, showed a uniform carotenoid con tent that is high enough (7.9 g/kg) for the production of paprika. The dryi ng system at mild temperature showed that fruits with moisture content of 8 5-88% generated a dry product with carotenoid content equal to or higher th an the initial one. Those high moisture levels allowed the fruits to have a longer period of metabolic activity, increasing the yellow fraction, the r ed fraction, or both as a function of what biosynthetic process was predomi nant. This fact indicates under-ripeness of the fruits in the drying step. The results obtained allow us to establish that both varieties, Jaranda and Jariza, fit the dehydration process employed, yielding a dry fruit with ca rotenoid concentration similar to that the initial one. During the grinding step of the dry fruit, the heat generated by the hammers of the mill cause d degradation of the yellow fraction, while the red fraction is maintained. The ripeness state of the harvested fruits and the appropriateness or seve rity of the processing steps are indicated by the ratio of red to yellow (R /Y) and/or red to total (R/T) pigments, since fluctuations in both fraction s and in total pigments are reflected in and monitored by these parameters.