• Defence Food Research Laboratory

Continuous Blanching System For Vegetables

Blanching (pre-cooking) is the primary operation in vegetable based processed food industry for vegetable dehydration or juicing in order to inactivate the enzymes and to expel tissue gases. In order to preserve the well-cultivated vegetable crops blanching has been carried out to convert perishable into stabilized product. This blancher designed and developed for effective continuous steam blanching with provision to control the processing parameters to meet the requirements of Indian food industries. The system is designed with all food contact parts fabricated using SS304 grade steel. The system is interfaced with energy efficient motors, dispensing systems and has a capacity of 500 kg/hr with fully power packed system. The cost of operation for this continuous blanching system comes to Rs 850/- per quintal compared to batch system, which is estimated to be Rs 2870/- per quintal. Results indicated that the continuous blanching system is five times as efficient as the batch system, saves Rs 2000/- per quintal in operational costs and retains natural colour, better in chlorophyll and cartenoids.