A DEHYDRATED PRODUCT FROM THE CULINARY HERB, SHADO BENI {Eryngium foetidum Linn.)

In an attempt to develop a dehydrated product, the food flavouring herb Eryngium foetidum Linn, commonly called 'shado beni' or 'bhandhanya' in Trinidad and Tobago, was dried in a natural convection cabinet dryer at 35, 45, 55 and 65 °C. The effects of various pre-drying treatments on the quality of the herb at 55 °C were also studied: steam blanching, water blanching and magnesium carbonate blanching. Drying of the fresh herb at high temperatures, e.g. 55 and 65 °C, resulted in an undesirable colour change from the green, typical of the fresh herb, to olive-brown/brown. This was paralleled by a decline in the herb's volatile oil constituent from 0.276% d.b for fresh shado beni to 0.049 and 0.030% d.b for the herb dried at 55 and 65 °C respectively. Shado beni dried at 35 °C appeared olive-green with an oil content of 0.095% d.b. Loss of green colour was considerably reduced by blanching in either water or magnesium carbonate prior to drying at 55 °C. Compared to the unblanched dried herb, oil yield was unaffected by the pre-drying treatments investigated.