Drying Characteristics of Agricultural Products under Different Drying Methods: A Review

Purpose: Drying is one of the most widely used methods for preserving agricultural products or food. The main purpose of drying agricultural products is to reduce their water content for minimizing microbial spoilage and deterioration reaction during storage. Methods: Although numerous drying methods are successfully applied to dehydrate various agricultural products with little drying time, the final quality of dried samples in terms of appearance and shape cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, based on published literature, this review was conducted to study the drying characteristics of various agricultural products when different drying methods were applied. Results: An increase in the drying power of sources-for example, increase in hot air temperature or velocity, infrared or microwave power-and the combination of drying power levels can reduce the drying time of various agricultural products. In addition, energy efficiency in drying significantly relies on the compositions of the dried samples and drying conditions. Conclusions: The drying power source is the key factor to control entire drying process of different samples and final product quality. In addition, an appropriate drying method should be selected depending on the compositions of the agricultural products.