In this study, the drying behaviour of tarhana consumed in Çankırı region was investigated with various drying methods and optimum drying conditions were determined using experimental Taguchi design method. Solar, conventional oven and microwave oven methods were used for drying purposes. Different temperatures and microwave powers were used in the ovens and tarhana was also dried under sun light. The effective drying parameters were examined concerning the tarhana in the thickness and varying drying period. The data obtained were subjected to variance analysis. Statistical significance was determined in terms of strength, temperature, thickness and time parameters. Conventional oven drying optimization was found to be more successful with the lower p value than 0.01. After drying, tarhana was analysed from humidity, ash, protein and colour values. The results were evaluated for the solar, oven or microwave dried samples.

In this research, Taguchi method application studies have been carried out to optimize the parameters affecting the drying of noodles made in Çankırı region by sun, conventional oven, and microwave method. In the experimental study, the noodles were dried in a single row in thin strips of 3-4 mm constant thickness to form an area of 100 cm 2 (square plate). Variable parameters in three different drying methods are temperature, duration, and microwave power level. Sun drying of noodles was performed at an average temperature of 19 °C in June. Oven drying experiments were carried out at different temperatures (75 °C, 100 °C, 150 °C) and times (30, 60, 90 minutes). Microwave drying operations were performed at 300 W, 450 W, 600W power and 1, 2, 3 minutes respectively. The factors affecting the moisture content that can be separated from the noodles in the conventional oven were determined as drying temperature and drying time. In microwave drying, power and drying time were chosen as control factors. For this purpose, the L9 orthogonal sequence was arranged in Taguchi design used in experimental studies. The effects of control factors were determined by analyzing variance analysis (ANOVA) at 95-97.6 % confidence level. The study also analyzed moisture, ash, protein, color, and volume increase for dried noodles with 3 different drying techniques. In the sun drying of the noodles,