Research Activities From Home During Coronavirus Disease (Covid) 19: Drying Kinetic Study Of Ginger (Zingiber Officinale Rosc.) Naturally (Natural Drying)

Abstract

During pandemic covid-19, drying naturally operation is an idea to continue the research activity study from home. Ginger is a type of medicinal plant and spice in the form of a pseudo-trunked clump and is part of the rhizome of a plant with the scientific name Zingiber officinale Rosc. Ginger is one agricultural commodity with good prospects for being commercialized in Indonesia. Agricultural product handling techniques are very important things to do, this is because if you master the handling techniques you can reduce the level of damage from various agricultural products. Drying is a food processing process that has long been known. The drying process in this study was carried out by natural drying (natural drying) with conditions outside and inside the room. The length of the sample is 4 cm, the width is 2 cm, and the thickness of the sample which is varied is 0.5 cm; 1 cm; and 1.5 cm. This research was conducted to determine the drying kinetics of ginger using natural drying on ginger's dimensions and to determine ginger's drying characteristics. The results showed that the best conditions for drying ginger were outdoor conditions exposed to direct sunlight. The best drying rate occurred in sample 1 with outdoor conditions. The best equation model for predicting the drying rate of ginger is Newton's model with R² of 0.9894 outdoors and 0.9929 indoors.