Abstract
This study investigated the quality of dried whole and half chili pods' powder dried with solar drying combined with CaCl(2) desiccant compared with natural convection solar drying to produce the final chili powder product. Besides the sensory analysis, the quality parameters such as beta-carotene, moisture, vitamin C, and ash content were also observed. The results showed that 57 hours of drying time of whole and half chili pods using solar drying can reach moisture content below 5%. Beta-carotene, ash, and vitamin C contents of the whole chili were higher than those of half chili pods' dried pepper powder; they were20.38 ± 0.22 mg/100 g, 5.81 ± 0.15%, and 23.99 ± 0.57 mg/100 g, respectively. This study can guide the red chili drying process based on the quality of the dried chili powder.