Optimizing banana powder production: A quadratic approachusing Box-Behnken Design for hot-air oven drying parameters

Optimization of parameters in food product processing is essential for achieving high-quality output and efficient production. While the use of fresh green bananas is limited, drying them into powder expands their applications significantly. This study focuses on optimizing the production of banana powder, which has numerous applications in the food industry. Key parameters such as steaming time, citric acid concentration, and drying time need to be optimized using Box-Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM), as they directly impact the quality of the banana powder. The moisture content of the sample was measured using the gravimetric method, while water activity was assessed with a digital water activity meter. Amylose content was determined using a calorimeter, while starch content of the sample was measured using the anthrone method and color characteristics were evaluated with a spectrophotometer. The quadratic model was found to be the best fit for most of the responses (R² = 0.96–1), and the linear model was fit for starch content (R² = 0.73). Results obtained using Box-Behnken Design of response surface methodology reveals that steaming time of 10 minutes, citric acid concentration of 0.5% and a drying time of 7 hours are ideal conditions for enhance powder making. Under the optimized condition, the values of yield, moisture content, water activity, amylose, starch content and L* was predicted to be 19.99%, 5.73%, 0.40 aw, 23.43 g/100g, 86.72 g/100g and 50.82 of banana powder respectively, aligning with the experimental values using the desirability function.