Process optimization of dried ginger (Zingiber officinale) pulp

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a popular food and spice. With the increase in consumption of ginger-based products, there will also be an increase in the production of their waste pulp. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of ginger pulp to optimize its fibre content for food and industrial application. The study investigated the effects of different process variables on the quality of ginger pulp using the response surface methodology to optimize its process conditions. Under these optimized conditions, the following optimized values were obtained: water activity of 0.3827, minimum bulk density of 0.0769 g/mL, maximum bulk density of 0.1296 g/mL, maximum ash content of 0.64%, lowest water retention capacity of 4.295 g/g, highest water retention capacity of 7.32 g/g, lowest oil binding capacity of 2.973 g/g, maximum oil binding capacity of 4.663 g/g, and fibre content of 69.13%. In addition, the fibre content of the dried ginger pulp was found to be higher compared to other natural sources of food fibres. Therefore, the dried ginger pulp fibre was recommended as a natural source of food fibres.