Quality of Chili Powder Soaked with Lime (Citrus aurantiifolia) and Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) Solution after Water Blanching

Abstract

Drying process leads to the decrease of the quality and nutrition of hot chili powder. Soaked with chemical solution such as sodium metabisulphite and citric acid can maintain the quality of hot chili powder. These chemicals are relatively expensive and not readily found. Fruits that have organic acids, natural, easy to find, and relatively cheap are lime and tamarind. The research aimed to determine the effect of hot chili powder soaked with lime and tamarind solution and determine the fruit that can replace chemical solution. Randomized Block Design with 2 factors was used in this research. The first factor was type of soaking solution (lime solution and tamarind solution). The second factor was acid concentration (5%, 10%, 15%). The observed data were analyzed statistically using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with 5% confidence interval. Then tested using LSD (Least Significance Different) test or DMRT (Duncan Multiple Range Test) with 5% confidence interval. The best results was showed by 15% lime solution. The sample results had color a ∗ 22.28, total color value 173.77 ASTA, capsaicin level 76427.54 ppm, total phenolic content 9.07 mg GAE/g, total flavonoid content 30.76 mg QE/g, ascorbic acid content 0.66 mg/g, and IC 50 is 213.11 ppm.