Preparation of Dehydrated Watermelon Products

Watermelon is a popular desert fruit in many parts of the world, owing to its delightful texture, attractive red colour and pleasant flavour. Being abundant in moisture (93-96 per cent), it is considered a potent thirst quencher in hot summers in tropical countries. Apart from this, it also contains good amount of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin C. It is also a good source of fiber, beta carotene- an antioxidant and rich in pigment lycopene. Watermelon is considered good for kidneys, helps in weight loss, maintains the skin tone and adds radiance to supple the skin. Various liquid and semi-liquid products of watermelon are available in the market but the use of watermelon for flakes or dehydrated products has not attracted attention so far and keeping the same in mind, the investigation was carried out to prepare watermelon flakes.