Effects of quince seed, almond, and tragacanth gum coating on the banana slices properties during the process of hot air drying.

Due to early deterioration of banana in drying process, almond, quince seed, and tragacanth gums as edible coatings were determined. For this purpose, banana slices were coated in 0.7% solution of each gum and one group remained uncoated as the control. The samples were examined at specific times considering the weight loss, color analyzing (a*, b*, and L*) through the method computer vision, color difference index, browning index, and rehydration after the samples being dried. The results showed that the weight loss of the coated samples was significantly (p < .05) higher than the uncoated samples which can be due to the alteration or destruction of the cell membrane. The almond gum-coated samples had significantly a lower ultimate browning index and quince seed gum-coated samples showed the highest rehydration. So, the gums coating is an effective way to preserve the quality characteristics of the banana slices.