Bioscience Methods 2024, Vol.15, No.6, 327-336 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/bm 330 Figure 1 Comparison of energy efficiency in different sweet potato drying methods (Adopted from Rashid et al., 2022) 4 Value-Addition Processing Methods for Sweet Potatoes Value addition in sweet potato processing involves transforming the raw crop into various products to improve its marketability, shelf life, and economic value. Different forms of processing methods have emerged, enhancing the utilization of sweet potatoes for both small-scale farmers and industrial applications. 4.1 Forms of processing (e.g., sweet potato flour, chips, puree) Sweet potatoes can be processed into various forms such as flour, chips, puree, and starch, which not only increase their shelf life but also create more versatile uses for the crop. Sweet potato flour, for example, is widely used in baking as a gluten-free alternative. Chips and fries are popular snack products, while puree is used in baby food and as a base ingredient in many culinary products. Processing sweet potatoes into these forms helps reduce post-harvest losses and makes it easier to transport and store the crop, contributing to increased income for farmers and producers (Alalade et al., 2019). The study results indicate that temperature significantly affects shrinkage rates, which increase with prolonged drying time. Additionally, the images provide a visual representation of the shape changes in SP samples after 200 minutes of drying (Figure 2) (Gonçalves et al., 2023). Studies show that transforming sweet potatoes into products such as chips, flour, and puree can significantly increase farm income and reduce food waste in rural communities (Ejechi, 2023; Orinda et al., 2017).
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