The effect of long skin soaking in the calcium solution on the quality of rambak crackers from buffalo skin

Buffalo skin is an underutilized by-product of buffalo slaughter. It is perishable and if it is not processed immediately, it will rot. One of the applications of buffalo skin is processing into skin crackers. The present research was aimed at determining the best duration of buffalo skin soaking in the lime solution with regard to its effect on quality of rambak from buffalo skin. The study used a completely randomized design (CRD) with a factor of treatment time, which consisted of four levels, i.e. A=76 hours, B=86 hours, C=96 hours, D=106 hours. Each treatment was performed with five replicates, so that 20 samples were obtained. The data were analyzed using the statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA). Parameters observed were the water content, yield, volume expansion, and organoleptic characteristics such as taste, aroma, color, and texture. The results show that different soaking duration (76 hours, 86 hours, 96 hours, and 106 hours) did not have a significant effect on yield, taste, aroma, color, and texture, but significantly affected the volume expansion and water content in rambak from buffalo skin. The best result was achieved with soaking duration of 106 hours; the rambak was characterized by the following parameters: water content 10.83%, yield 57.87%, volume expansion 76.66%, color score 3.51, taste score 3.61, aroma score 3.63 and texture score 3.30.