AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

Infrared radiation was used as an alternative heat treatment to the conventional hot air most commonly used in peanut blanching. An impingement oven was used to heat peanuts at 100ºC for 30 min and 20 min as control trials. A Radiant Wall Oven was used for infrared radiation blanching at 287.8°C, 315.6°C, and 343.3°C for 30 s, 1 min, and 1.5 min. The total blanchabilities of the infrared radiation trials at 343.3°C for 1.5 min, 315.6°C for 1.5 min, 287.8°C for 1.5 min, and 343.3°C for 1 min did not significantly differ from the control trials. All infrared trials had significantly lower numbers of split kernels compared to those of the conventional trials and all blanched peanuts in this experiment remained raw. A descriptive sensory panel did not find any significant differences between the blanched peanut with infrared radiation or conventional methods. Advisors/Committee Members: Rakesh Singh.