Influence of solute temperature and concentration on the combined osmotic and air drying

The effect of solute concentration (15-45 % sugars) and temperature (10-40 °C) on the osmotic dehydration of apple was investigated. Cylindrical samples of apple were immersed in glucose or sucrose solutions and the water loss, the volume of solids and the porosity were measured as a function of time. Water loss was proportional to the square root of time, while the volume of solids decreased and the porosity increased with time. Sugar gain and water loss decreased the compression stress of the apple samples. Osmotic pre-treatment reduced the shrinkage and the porosity of apple solids during air-drying, compared to the no-treated samples. The results of this investigation are useful in the design of efficient osmotic dehydration processes, and in the evaluation of texture of dehydration of products.