Agroindustry for Drying Pink Pepper (Aroeira)

Abstract

The pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolius) is a tree native to Atlantic whose planting is seen as an alternative to agricultural diversification. Besides being suitable for reforestation, its fruit, known as pink pepper, pepper or brazilia-poivre rose, is widely used in European cuisine. This paper aimed to design an agribusiness for processing the fruits of 100 trees planted in planting planned or consortium, as well as restore degraded areas, this needs a small area for planting. Lining surveyed the procedures used for drying of pink pepper as well as those required for the marketing of this spice patterns. The starting process is the manual collection and pre-cleaning stage where pepper is separated from branches and leaves, the product follows after the washing to which sieves and drinking water are used, then goes into the pre-drying and drying in a dryer trays, which reaches its optimum moisture around 5%. After, with strict control of hygiene, healthy fruits are manually selected, weighed, packaged and intended for sale. The drying process is thorough, yet simple, and requires little initial investment and may be an alternative secondary income for family farmers.