Proximate and Mineral Composition of Cauliflower

The study was conducted to examine the Proximate and mineral composition of fresh and dried cauliflower during 2011-12 at Institute of Food Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Crop Production, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam. Fresh cauliflower was obtained from the local vegetable market of Tandojam, Hyderabad Sindh. Each whole cauliflower was cut and the edible portion was divided into three portions (fresh as control, open sun-drying and cabinet dehydration) and were analyzed. Fresh, cabinet dehydrated and sun-dried cauliflower samples were analyzed for proximate as well as mineral analysis. Fresh cauliflower samples contained 90.62% moisture, 4.42% carbohydrate, 1.98% protein, 0.23% fat, 2.03% dietary fiber and 0.62% ash. Proximate analysis values for cabinet dehydrated samples were 9.99% moisture, 42.44% carbohydrate, 19.06% protein, 2.24% fat, 18.59% dietary fiber and 5.98% ash. Similarly sun-dried samples had 13.27% moisture, 38.37% carbohydrate, 18.37% protein, 2.16% fat, 18.80% dietary fiber and 5.76% ash. Cabinet dehydration and open sun drying of cauliflower had higher proximate analysis values due to removal of moisture.