Effects of combined drying method (osmotic-hot air) on the structural, color, and kinetic properties of apple cubes

Document Type : Original research

Authors

1 Department of Food Science and Technology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM), Mashhad, Iran

2 Department of Green Technologies in Food Processing, Research Institute of Food Science and Technology (RIFST), Mashhad, Iran(RIFST), Mashhad, Iran

3 Department of Green Technologies in Food Processing, Research Institute of Food Science and Technology (RIFST), Mashhad, Iran

4 Department of Food Chemistry, Research Institute of Food Science and Technology (RIFST), Mashhad, Iran

5 Department of Food Safety and Quality Control, Research Institute of Food Science and Technology (RIFST), Mashhad, Iran

10.22059/jfabe.2025.397962.1206

Abstract

In this study, the effects of combined drying method (Osmotic-Hot Air) on the structural, color, and kinetic
properties of apple cuboids were investigated. Experiments were conducted using Box-Behnken design at three
levels of drying temperature (60, 70, and 80 °C), three slice thicknesses (5, 10, and 15 mm), and three sucrose
osmotic solution (40, 50, and 60%). Results showed that the overall effective diffusion coefficient of the tested
samples varied between from 4.36 × 10-9
to 1.46 × 10-7 m2
/s. The activation energy of samples ranged from 20.01
to 33.94 kJ/mol, increasing with slice thickness and sucrose osmotic solution. Among eight investigated models, the
Midilli model demonstrated the best fit with experimental data, showing a coefficient of determination above 0.99.
The browning index of samples varied between 140.54 to 140.83, with increases in slice thickness and drying
temperature leading to higher browning indices, while increasing sucrose concentration from 40% to 60% resulted
in decreased browning index. Analysis of Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) parameters revealed that
temperature increase led to higher energy, correlation, and homogeneity while reducing entropy. Conversely,
increasing sample thickness resulted in decreased energy and correlation while increasing homogeneity and entropy.
PLS regression analysis further confirmed the significance of drying temperature on GLCM parameters

Keywords

Main Subjects

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