Abstract

ZULUAGA, Juan Diego; CORTES-RODRIGUEZ, Misael  and  RODRIGUEZ-SANDOVAL, Eduardo. Evaluation of physical characteristics of dried mango applying hot air drying and osmotic dehydration. Rev. Fac. Ing. UCV [online]. 2010, vol.25, n.4, pp.127-135. ISSN 0798-4065.

The influence of the drying temperature (50 and 60°C) and the different pretreatments (hot air drying, osmotic dehydration+ hot air drying) are evaluated on the physical characteristics of dried mango (cv. Tommy Atkins). The methods used in this work are: moisture content, water activity, fracture force, color and rehydration. Moreover, the drying curves were determined by each treatment. The results confirm that drying at 70°C without pretreatment shows a higher rate of water loss in fruit, lower moisture content (10.2%), lower water activity (0.362), and higher fracture force (399.8 N). The drying processes with osmodehydration as pretreatment present a lower rate of water loss in fruit during the drying process, higher moisture content (14%- 15%), higher water activity (0.612), but their fracture force was in the range of 115.6 to 140.8 N, which is lower compared to the dried samples without pretreatment. The drying processes with osmodehydration are slower due to the formation of a syrup coating on the sample surface, making the movement of moisture within the mango more difficult.

Keywords : Mango; Drying; Osmotic Dehydration; Rehydration; Pretreatment.