An ASABE Meeting Presentation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.20[Click here to
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MOISTURE CONTENT DETERMINATION AND SENSORY

CHARACTERISTICS EVALUATION OF SABA AT 66℃

Bugnay, Jula Claire E.1, Owaban, Ivy Joy A.1, Pasian, Mildred M.1, Sison, Ariel A.1
Benguet State University, College of Engineering and Applied Technology,
Km. 5, La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines

ABSTRACT. This paper presents an activity on the oven drying of banana slices at 66℃. The
activity was conducted to determine the moisture reduction and to evaluate the characteristics
of the oven dried sliced half ripe banana samples, such as appearance, texture, smell and taste
indexes on the respondents.
Saba was chosen as the main material. Four Saba were used having an average measurement
of 30mm diameter and 120mm length. The four Saba produced 36 slices occupying a stainless
tray. The Saba slices were put in the tray in a 6 x 6 arrangement with a spacing of 25 mm.
Only six slices were chosen random to be the representative in the activity. The sliced half ripe
banana samples were subjected for oven drying at 66°C with 20 minutes time interval. The
initial average mass of the representative samples were 1.855 grams and it takes 22 times (400
minutes) until they attained their constant mass.
The average moisture reduction of the six sliced half ripe banana samples ranged from 0.753
grams to 1.725 grams. The moisture content of the samples ranged from 79% to 96%. Also,
the sensory characteristics of the oven dried banana sliced such as appearance, texture, smell
and taste were evaluated using the Linkert Scale by 30 respondents. Out of 30 respondents, the
products resulted to have a very desirable characteristics in terms of appearance, texture, smell
and taste.

Keywords. drying, moisture content, Saba

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 INTRODUCTION

Saba (Musa acuminata), a variety of banana, is a triploid hybrid (ABB) banana cultivar
originating from Philippines. It is primarily a cooking banana, though it can be eaten raw. It is
the most important banana varieties in Philippine cuisine. Aside from its culinary purposes, it
also contains numerous nutrients, water, vitamins, and minerals, which are beneficial to the
body that can help us to resolve several health issues. Among these, water, or moisture in
banana is an important factor in order to prolong its shelf life. In addition, moisture
determination influences the nutritional evaluation of banana when converting the nutrient
contents to a dry matter (DM) basis. Thus, an accurate measure of moisture content in banana
is essential.
The oven-drying method for moisture determination has been widely used; this
method measures the weight loss following heating of a sample. Drying by microwaves is
faster, more uniform and energetically efficient as compared to conventional process.
Although the oven method has been commonly used for estimating the loss on drying (LOD),
this procedure has several limitations because the results of the LOD vary depending on the
drying temperature and time. During the drying process volatile substances can be lost and
unintended chemical reactions may occur (Mo and Tjornhom, 1978).
Making products such as banana chips, banana juices, sweet concentrated pulp and
dried bananas are one of the source of income of Filipino. Dried bananas are mostly consumed
on the internal market and are generally produced by small manufacturing establishments
located near the banana growing areas, although the sensory quality desired by the consumers
has yet to be attained, currently being characterized by the color, texture, hardness, taste and
aroma (Travaglini et al, 1993). These characteristics are probably due to processing
deficiencies such as temperature, lengthy drying time, the oven and also the banana itself.

Objectives of the study

The goal of the activity were:
a. To determine the moisture reduction; and
b. To evaluate the characteristics of the oven dried sliced half ripe Saba samples, such as
appearance, texture, smell and taste indexes on the respondents.

METHODOLOGY
Materials
The materials used in the activity were the following:

1. Four half ripe Saba

- It is the main material in the
activity having an average
diameter of 30 mm and length
of 120 mm and it was bought
at the La Trinidad Public
Market.

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 2. Stainless Knife and Chopping
board
- These was used to sliced the
Saba in a uniform sizes.

3. Digital Weighing Scale and Wax

paper
- Digital weighing scale was
used to determine the weight
of the Saba samples.
Meanwhile, the wax paper
were used to avoid the
stickiness of the samples in
the weighing scale.

4. Stainless steel tray

- It is where the sliced Saba
were arranged in a 6 x 6 order
with a spacing of 25 mm.

5. Oven dehydrator
- It is a type the oven used in
the activity. And it was set to
66℃.

6. Plastic container with lid

- It where the oven dried Saba
samples were stored to be
evaluated by the respondents.

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 Sample preparation
1. The Saba were examined for
physical damage to ensure
good condition before oven
drying.
3. Before putting in the oven
dehydrator, the initial mass (grams)
of the six chosen samples were taken
and recorded.
ASABE 2019 Annual International Meeting
2. They were hand-peeled and
cut into same sizes and thickness.
A total of 72 slices were produced,
then, six random samples were
chosen for observation.
4. The dehydrator was preheated
at 66 for five minutes before the
samples were subjected to drying.
The temperature was maintained
for the entire drying procedure.
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 Data Gathering

Initial Mass
The initial weight of sliced half ripe Saba samples was determined
using a digital weighing scale and a weighed 2.5” by 3” tracing paper
(calibrated to 0).

During Dehydration Process

The trays of samples were taken out for weighing every 20 minutes
interval until the sliced half ripe Saba sample reach its constant weight.

Moisture Content and Reduction

The average weight of the sliced half ripe Saba (initial, during,
dried) was determined, recorded, graphed, and tabulated. The moisture
content (%) was computed using the moisture content dry weight basis
formula written as
FW −ODW
MC db= X 100 (1)
ODW

Where,
MC db = moisture content dry basis (%)
FW = fresh weight or initial weight (grams) of the samples
ODW = oven dried weight (grams) of the samples.

Evaluation
The oven dried sliced half ripe Saba samples were evaluated by 30
respondents (BSU students) using the Likert Scale with the degree of
desirability (undesirable, moderately desirable, desirable, very desirable
and strongly desirable) for the characteristics of its appearance, texture,
smell, and taste.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the results of how the moisture reduction of oven dried sliced
half ripe Saba samples at a maintained temperature of 66℃. Also, it shows the evaluation
of the characteristics of the oven dried sliced half ripe Saba samples, such as appearance,
texture, smell, and taste indexes from respondents.
The decreasing of weight of the random samples corresponding to the length of
drying procedure was shown in Table 1. From the average initial weight of 1.855 grams,
the random samples reached a constant weight of 0.753 grams on the 19 th time of weight
measurement after it was oven dried for 360 minutes (6 hours).

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 Table 1. Mass Reduction, Mass of the Moisture Removed and Moisture Reduction of
Saba Samples Subjected to 66 ˚C Oven Drying at 20 Minutes Interval.

Mass of
Moisture
Time Mass reduction moisture Moisture removal
Reduction
(min.) (gram) removed (gram/min)
(%)
(gram)
0 1.855 0 0 0
20 1.725 0.13 0.0065 7.54
40 1.566 0.289 0.0072 18.45
60 1.364 0.491 0.0082 36.00
80 1.216 0.639 0.0080 52.55
100 1.067 0.788 0.0079 73.85
120 0.97 0.885 0.0074 91.24
140 0.89 0.965 0.0069 108.43
160 0.85 1.005 0.0063 118.24
180 0.825 1.03 0.0057 124.85
200 0.805 1.05 0.0053 130.43
220 0.79 1.065 0.0048 134.81
240 0.781 1.074 0.0045 137.52
260 0.774 1.081 0.0042 139.66
280 0.771 1.084 0.0039 140.60
300 0.766 1.089 0.0036 142.17
320 0.762 1.093 0.0034 143.44
340 0.754 1.101 0.0032 146.02
360 0.753 1.102 0.0031 146.35
380 0.753 1.102 0.0029 146.35
400 0.753 1.102 0.0028 146.35

Figure 2 shows the mass reduction and the mass of the moisture removed of the
sliced Saba at 66℃. The Saba samples resulted to reduced 1.102 grams of moisture
content removed. Also, the samples has an average moisture reduction of 146.35 %.

Figure 1. Mass Reduction and Mass of Moisture Removed of the Sliced Saba Samples at

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 66℃

Mass Reduction and Mass of Moisture Removed of the Sliced

Saba Samples at 66℃
2 1.2
1.8 f(x) = − 0 x² + 0.01 x + 0.06

Mass of Mopisture Removed (grams)

R²
f(x)==0.96
0 x² − 0.01 x + 1.8 1
1.6 R² = 0.96
Moisture Reduction (grams)

1.4
0.8
1.2
1 0.6
0.8
0.4
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.2
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

Time (minutes)
Mass reduction

Figure 3 shows the Likert Scale degree of desirability wherein 30 respondents

rated the texture, taste, appearance, and smell of the random samples. According to the 30
respondents, the samples has very desirable (40%) sensory characteristics in terms of
texture, taste, appearance and smell.

Figure 3. Oven Dried Sliced Half Ripe Banana Samples Evaluation Survey

AVERAGE RATE OF THE RESPONDENTS IN THE SLICED

OVENDRIED
40% SABA
PERCENTAGE OF THE RESPONSE

35%
30%
25%
20% f(x) = − 0.02 x + 0.25
R² = 0.03
15%
10%
5%
0%
Strongly desirable Very desirable (%) Desirable (%) Moderately Undesirable (%)
(%) desirable (%)

RESPONSE OF THE RESPONDENTS

TOTAL RATE Linear (TOTAL RATE) Linear (TOTAL RATE)

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 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Summary
The activity was conducted to determine the moisture reduction of oven dried
sliced half ripe banana samples at a maintained temperature of 66℃ and to evaluate the
characteristics of the oven dried sliced half ripe banana samples, such as appearance,
texture, smell and taste indexes on the respondents. The activity was performed at the
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Departmental Laboratory,
Benguet State University, Benguet, Philippines. The sliced half ripe banana samples were
subjected for oven drying at 66°C with 20 minutes time interval. The mass of the
representative samples were taken for 22 times until they attained their constant mass.
The moisture reduction and moisture content of the representative samples was then
taken and the characteristics such as appearance, texture, smell and taste was evaluated
by 30 respondents. The average moisture reduction of the six sliced half ripe banana
samples ranged from 0.753 to 1.725 grams. The moisture content of the samples ranged
from 79% to 96%. The characteristics of the sliced oven dried half ripe bananas were
evaluated using the Likert Scale. Out of 30 respondents, the products have a very
desirable characteristics in terms of appearance, texture, smell and taste.

Conclusion
In the presented paper, the moisture reduction and content of the 6 random
samples varies from each other. Furthermore, the general desirability of the oven dried
samples was rated as very desirable basing on the opinion of 30 respondents. In addition,
the samples needs to be oven dried for at least 6 hours to reach a constant dried weight.

Recommendation
The researchers recommends comparative studies such as different variety of
banana or different samples of fruits to determine the difference in moisture content,
duration of drying to achieve a constant dried weight and desirability of the dried
product. Moreover, the researchers also recommends to study the relationship of the data
variables to further understand the importance of the experiment.

REFERENCES
[1]Abanao E. E. and Sam-Amoah L. K. (2011): Effect of different pretreatments on drying
characteristics of Banana slices. ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
[2]Mo, M. and T. Tjornhom. (1978), Losses Carbon-Containing Substances During Dry Matter
Determenition by Oven Drying. Acta Agric. Scand. 28:,196-202
[3]Travaglini, D.A., Neto, M.P., Bleinroth, E.W., and Leitao, M.F. (1993). Banana-Passa:
Principles de Secagem, Conservacao e Producao Industrial-Campinas:ITAL/ Rede Nucleos de
Informao Technologica, 7p. (Manual Technicol)

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