No abstract

Fish cracker is a popular snack in Malaysia. In preparation of fish cracker, drying is one of the important steps. Drying is used as for the preservation of fish crackers during storage. In this study, the effects of different drying techniques on the drying kinetics of fish crackers were investigated. Fresh fish cracker samples were attained from two manufacturers in Tanjung Dawai Kedah, Malaysia which were Persatuan Nelayan Kawasan (M1) and Perusahaan Hasil Laut Musliha (M2). Samples were dried under sunlight, oven and vacuum oven. Results showed that M1 sample exhibited higher drying rate than M2 under all techniques. It is due to the difference in thickness. All of the drying kinetics fall under falling rate period except for M1 samples dried by vacuum oven. Mathematical modelling was performed to compare experimental drying kinetics with predicted data by Lewis model. Vacuum oven drying showed the best fit to the model which gave highest R 2 and lowest SSE, RMSE and c 2 as compared to sundry and oven. Therefore, data predicted by Lewis model could be used to describe the drying of fish cracker using vacuum oven.