Vol. 10, Issue 3 (2021)

Author(s):
Pooja P Thul and Bhawna S Shirsat

Abstract:
Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is one of the most important spice crops derived from the rhizomes and belongs to the family Zingiberaceae. The rhizomes of the plant when dried and ground provide yellow and flavorful powder used for centuries as a natural coloring agent in food cosmetics and textiles as a flavoring compound and also as an insect repellent in Indian medicine. Recently it has been valued worldwide as a functional food due to its health-promoting properties. India is one of the leading countries in the production of raw turmeric and other sub-products related to turmeric. The post-processing of turmeric is usually done 2 or 3 days after harvesting which involves different unit operations such as cleaning, washing, curing (boiling), drying, polishing, grinding, and packaging. Retaining the curcumin content of turmeric is important and depends on the methods used to process the turmeric. This review paper presented information related to the curing and drying methods of turmeric processing. The different methods used to cure and dry the turmeric rhizomes or their slices affect the quality of the final product. In the present study, steam cooking (30 min) for curing while convective drying (50-60 °C) and solar conduction drying (39-51 °C) methods for drying are found to be the most efficient methods with maximum retention of curcumin and oleoresin content.