Pengaruh Berbagai Proses Dehidrasi Pada Pengeringan Daun Stevia Rebaudiana

Stevia sugar is derived from the Stevia leaf extraction process, which is a natural sweetener, low-calorie and easily digestible. Stevia leaves are sweet because they contain the main glycosides Stevioside and Rebaudioside A. Stevia has many benefits, especially for health. The Stevia leaves' dehydration process will affect Stevia sugar gain in subsequent processing. The objective of this research was to find out the best dehydration method of fresh Stevia leaf that can produce dried leaves with the lowest moisture content, similar content to the original composition, and no color changing to brown or black. Leaf dehydration methods used in this research are sun drying, shade drying, drying with oven incubator, and use of food dehydrator. The result shows that the temperature, drying airflow rate, dryer airflow pattern, and relative humidity were influence the drying process. The best results were given by the dehydration process by using food dehydrator at 40.56 ° C for 4 hours, with moisture content of 5.71%, Stevioside content of 12.37%, and dried leaves that remain green