Utilization of green banana flour in development of pasta and festive food vermicelli

Abstract

Banana is among the top ten most widely cultivated agricultural commodities. Being highly perishable fruit, around one-fifth of the total harvest undergoes waste as postharvest losses mainly during transportation and handling. By employing proper processing techniques, the unutilized, culled or damaged green bananas can be used to develop banana flour which can be used for developing various functional foods. This approach can substantially impact economic sustainability. Thus, under present study, planned to prepare green banana flour and further to utilize in the development of pasta and festive food vermicelli. Two banana varieties, Grand Naine (dessert banana) and Bagner (plantain), in unripe or green stage were used. Initially, the effect of storage temperature and time on the physicochemical, textural, and optical properties of green bananas was examined. The results revealed a significant positive correlation between storage temperature on factors such as weight loss, colour, and total soluble solids (TSS). Storage time had negative impact on pH, starch content, and texture of green banana. Overall, 15°C is suggested to be the best temperature for storage of unripe or green banana for storage if to be required in its green state for at least 8 days. Further the effect of citric acid pre-treatment and drying temperatures on the characteristics of both the varieties was studied to optimize the conditions for drying of green banana slices. The drying of green banana slices does not possess a constant rate of drying; instead, they directly enter the falling rate period. The citric acid treated Grand Naine and Bagner samples dried at 60°C were better in terms of colour, antioxidant properties, and have better sensory attributes.