Abstrak
THE EFFECT OF PRE-TREATMENT AND DRYING METHODS ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURAL FLAVOR ENHANCERS OF STRAW MUSHROOMS (Volvariella volvacea) Abstract Straw mushrooms (Volvariella volvacea) are food ingredients that contain protein and natural glutamic acid, making them potentially useful as natural flavor enhancers to replace synthetic seasonings. The utilization of straw mushrooms as flavor enhancers is influenced by the processing methods, particularly pre-treatment and drying methods, which can determine the quality characteristics of the final product. This study aims to investigate the effect of pre-treatment and drying methods on the characteristics of natural flavor enhancers of straw mushrooms. The research was conducted at the Agricultural Product Processing Technology Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Borneo Tarakan, using a factorial two-factor completely randomized design with three repetitions. The first factor was pre-treatment, which consisted of control, blanching, soaking in 0.5% citric acid, soaking in 0.25% sodium bisulfite, and soaking in 2% salt, while the second factor was the drying method, which included conventional drying (sunlight) for 12 hours and oven drying at 60°C for 5 hours. The observed parameters included yield, moisture content, protein content, and glutamic acid content. The results showed that pre-treatment and drying methods had a significant effect on moisture content, protein content, and glutamic acid content, whereas the interaction of the two factors did not have a significant effect. Salt soaking treatment resulted in the highest glutamic acid content, while oven drying tended to better preserve the chemical quality of the product compared to conventional drying. The application of appropriate pre-treatment and the use of oven drying methods can enhance the quality characteristics of natural flavor enhancers from straw mushrooms.