Drying Behavior and Sensory Quality of Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) Skin Using Vertical-type Mechanical Dryer

Abstract

The general objective of this study was to determine the drying behavior of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) skin as benchmark research for processing tuna skin as food material. The drying temperature of 47±3°C and airflow rates of 0.95m/s and 0.80m/s were used. The target moisture content of 10.00% w.b. for the final product was attained from an initial moisture content of 61.86% w.b. Result shows that the drying rate was initially faster for 0.95m/s air velocity than at 0.80m/s. At 1.50hrs, case-hardening was observed for 0.95m/s so that drying became slower. Consequently, reaching the final moisture content took a longer time at 0.95m/s. This lead to significant differences in both drying time and drying rate, with better drying characteristics at a slower airflow rate of 0.80m/s. The findings of the study can be used to design a more energy-efficient system of processing tuna skin at mild drying conditions.