بررسي تاثير روشهاي مختلف خشكانيدن در حفظ كيفيت زعفران

Effects of drying methods on quality of saffron (Crocus sativus L)

In this study in order to evaluate different methods of drying on saffron quality, an experiment was conducted in R.C.B.D. in 4 replicates. Saffron was dried with four different methods including 2 traditional methods and 2 industrial methods. After drying ammount of color, aroma and bitterness in samples was determined, by spectrophotometric method. Results indicated that there is a signi- ficant difference between drying methods; such that drying saffron with cabinet dryer in atmosphere pressure reserve quality of saffron better than other methods. Drying of saffron with Iranian traditional method caused decreases in quality of saffron. It is recommended that in small scales production, Spanish method is used for drying of saffron and in large scales and farms to be used industrial driers.