Traditional Fermentation And The Quality Of Balancotta Variety Of Black Pepper {piper Nigrum)

ABSTRACT A study was made of the effect on pepper quality of the traditional method of processing the "Balancotta" variety of Piper nigrum (black pepper). The study comparatively considered the microbiological quality, drying method, drying rate, colour and appearance, washing or cleaning method, prior to fermentation or heaping as well as an alternative method - heat treatment processing of the commodity. Using a solar dryer as a drying apparatus resulted in 9.8% moisture content of the sample as opposed to 12.5% obtained for the traditional method of sun/open air-drying. The drying was more…