Ginger is a spice of commercial and medicinal importance. Sun
drying of ginger rhizome retains its colour and aroma than
mechanical drying of ginger rhizome using hot air dryer, but hot
air dryer dries ginger rhizome faster than sun drying of ginger
rhizome. Peeled or scraped rhizome reduces drying time, thus
minimizing mold growth and fermentation. However, while this
process decreases the fiber content by removing the outside corky
skin, it also tends to remove some of the oils constituents, as
they are more concentrated in the peel, and therefore reduces some
of the pungency. Splited or sliced ginger rhizome dries faster than
peeled ginger rhizome under the same conditions. Mechanical drying
of ginger gives a more homogenous and cleaner product than sun
drying of ginger. Traditional methods of ginger processing gives
low capacity output while modern/mechanized methods give high
capacity output.
