Effect of ethanol pretreatment on melon convective drying

•Ethanol, ultrasound and/or vacuum was used as a pretreatment to melon drying.•Drying rates could be improved by using ethanol and ultrasound pretreatment.•Associating ethanol (50%), ultrasound and/or vacuum reduced quality loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of ethanol, ultrasound and/or vacuum as a pretreatment to melon drying. Eight types of pretreatments were performed in which samples were immersed in ethanol solutions with different concentrations (50% and 100%) using four treatment conditions: immersion, immersion with ultrasound (US), with vacuum (VC) and with ultrasound and vacuum (USVC). Drying was performed at 60 °C and five different semi-theoretical drying mathematical models were examined to characterize the drying curves, and quality analyses were carried out. The condition that obtained the lower drying time was using the US pretreatment in 100% ethanol solution. Drying caused a diminution of bioactive compounds and influenced color parameters. However, the samples immersed in 50% ethanol solution and dried obtained minor losses of total phenolics, total carotenoids, and ascorbic acid contents.