DEVELOPMENT OF A PROCESS FOR UTILISATION OF BANANA WASTE

Banana centre core, a biological waste in banana plantations could be effectively utilized as a source of food material by converting them into flour which could be used as a food product in bakery preparations and soup mix. In this study, an attempt was made to develop a process for the value addition of banana central core, by drying and powdering. Cleaned and sliced banana centre core was dried in a cabinet dryer at 50, 60 & 70°C temperature. The dried samples were ground to flour in a pulveriser. The drying characteristics and the quality of the dried material and flour obtained were analysed. The sample dried at 60°C temperature, was found to be better in terms of colour and quality of the flour.