EVALUATION OF QUALITY INDICATORS FOR DRIED MELONS FROM UZBEKISTAN

Melon is one of the most valuable and useful products, and it forces us to look for ways of processing these seasonal fruits for longterm storage. The easiest, cheapest and least time-consuming method of preservation is drying. The aim of the work was to study the effective methods of drying local varieties of melons and determine their quality indicators. As well as to study the quality indicators of dried melon obtained by the method of solar and artificial convective drying. The acceptance of dried melon samples, the content of total phenols, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), antioxidant activity, and the indicators of food safety and the microbiological background of dry products for several local melon varieties were studied. The highest total phenols content (TPC) in dried melon was detected in melon variety 'Oq uruq', but the highest antioxidant activity - in melon variety 'Obinavvot Samarqand' (DPPH.) and 'Qundalang tur' (ABTS(.+)). The melon variety as well as the drying method had a significant effect on TPC and antioxidant activity. The artificial convective drying productivity was higher: microbiological, sensory and chemical analysis of food safety showed that the products obtained by the artificial convective drying are better in all indicators than in the solar drying.