Microwave drying of selected greens and their sensory characteristics

Green leafy vegetables which supply minerals and vitamins to the diet, are highly perishable. Therefore, post harvest losses are extremely high. Limit ed studies are available in the literature with regard to preservation of g reens. The effect of microwave drying and storage on physical and sensory p roperties of selected greens (coriander, mint, fenugreek, amaranth and shep u) were therefore studied. Microwave drying was carried out at 100% power a nd a frequency of 2450 mHz. The drying time varied from 10 to 16 min for di fferent greens. Microwave drying affected color, appearance and odor of all the greens. The relative reconstitution capacity (RRC) for different green s was coriander-10.3, mint-10.3, amaranth-38.3, fenugreek-31.7 and shepu-32 .8. The RRC appeared to influence acceptability. Coriander and mint, which exhibited the lowest RRC (10.3%), had the lowest scores for flavor and colo r while amaranth, with the highest RRC (38.3%), had scores similar to those of fresh amaranth. Scores for the products prepared with dried fenugreek a nd shepu, although low, were not statistically significant. Microwave dryin g was highly suitable for greens such as amaranth; moderately suitable for shepu and fenugreek and less suitable for coriander and mint.