AVALIAÇÃO DE PARÂMETROS OPERACIONAIS DE PRODUÇÃO DE MELADO E RAPADURA ATRAVÉS DE ANÁLISES FÍSICO-QUÍMICAS

Abstract

Artisanal products, such as molasses and rapadura, are being increasingly consumed and produced. Therefore, it is clear that there is a need to standardize the process and its parameters. Temperature and processing time, for example, interfere with the quality of the color results, % humidity, ºBrix and AR%, of molasses and rapadura. The amount of reducing sugars (% AR) in these products influences the molasses crystallization during storage and makes it difficult to mold the brown sugar. Therefore, the objective of this work was to analyze the relationship between the raw material and the characteristics of the final products and monitor their temperature and cooking time, relating them to ºBrix. During the production of molasses, citric acid (AC) or lemon juice was used to evaluate the inversion of sucrose, through analyzes of% AR (Eynon Lane method). The elaborated products were analyzed physically and chemically and compared with data from: literature, legislation and commercial products. Among the inverted molasses, the ones that presented a percentage of inversion consistent with the specifications were: o with 33.6 ml of lemon juice and 4.04 g of AC, contributing to preserve their characteristics during storage. As for the parameters of the rapadura produced, it was possible to determine that the humidity is related to the crystallization point, therefore, it must be monitored. In addition, it was possible to establish a production procedure for rapadura and molasses, relating the temperature, cooking time and ºBrix, as well as determining the percentage of inputs to be used in the standardization of sucrose inversion, adding quality and optimizing the productive process.