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Cabinet Dryer (cabinet + dryer)
Selected AbstractsHot air dehydration of figs (Ficus carica L.): drying kinetics and quality lossINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Issue 7 2004Antonio Piga Summary The dehydration of fruit from fig trees is normally achieved by sun drying. There is concern about the safety of the end product, mainly because there is a risk of the development of aflatoxins. These concerns can be overcome by artificial drying (oven dehydration). Fig fruits of a local cultivar, which were either pre-treated by blanching or blanching plus sulphuring or not treated at all, underwent hot air dehydration under mild processing conditions in a pilot airflow cabinet dryer. Sampling was carried out at regular intervals to calculate the rate of dehydration and assess quality changes. Microbiological counts and nonenzymatic browning were also monitored. Pretreatments resulted in a shorter processing time, compared with control fruits. In general, a falling dehydration rate period was observed. A dramatic loss of ascorbic acid was recorded, while an informal sensorial assay of the dried fruits gave a positive assessment. [source] INFLUENCE OF SAMPLE SIZE AND SHAPE ON TRANSPORT PARAMETERS DURING DRYING OF SHRINKING BODIESJOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2007NAJMUR RAHMAN ABSTRACT An experimental investigation on the influence of sample size and shape on heat and mass transport parameters under natural convection air-drying is presented. Potato cylinders with length of 0.05 m and thicknesses of 0.005, 0.008, 0.010 and 0.016 m, and circular slices with diameter of 0.05 m and thickness of 0.01 m were dried in a laboratory scale hot-air cabinet dryer. Results indicate that each transport parameter exhibits a linear relationship with sample thickness. Convective heat and mass transfer coefficients (hcand hm) decreased whereas moisture diffusion coefficient (Deff) increased with increasing thickness. Considering no sample shrinkage effect in the parameter analysis, for the thickness range considered, the values of hcare found to be underestimated in the range of 29.0,30.6%, whereas those of hmand Deff are overestimated in the range of 33.7,38.0% and 75.9,128.1%, respectively. Using Levenberg,Marquardt algorithm for optimization, a correlation for Biot number for mass transfer (Bim) as a function of drying time and sample thickness is proposed. A close agreement was observed between dimensionless moisture contents predicted by this relation and those obtained from experiments for different sample thicknesses at drying air temperature of 60C. For the same thickness and drying conditions, circular slices caused an increase in each transport parameter significantly. [source] APPLICATION OF RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY FOR THE OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF CARROTSJOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, Issue 6 2006BAHADUR SINGH ABSTRACT Osmotic dehydrations of carrot cubes in sodium chloride salt solutions at different solution concentrations, temperatures and process durations were analyzed for water loss and solute gain. The osmotically pretreated carrot cubes were further dehydrated in a cabinet dryer at 65C and were then rehydrated in water at ambient temperature for 8,10 h and analyzed for rehydration ratio, color and overall acceptability of the rehydrated product. The process was optimized for maximum water loss, rehydration ratio and overall acceptability of rehydrated product, and for minimum solute gain and shrinkage of rehydrated product by response surface methodology. The optimum conditions of various process parameters were 11% salt concentration, 30C osmotic solution temperature and process duration of 120 min. [source] EFFECT OF LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION OF CASSAVA ON FUNCTIONAL AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF FUFU FLOURJOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION, Issue 4 2008A.O. SOBOWALE ABSTRACT The effects of lactic acid fermentation of cassava on the functional and sensory characteristic of fufu flour were investigated. Two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum were used as starter cultures for the fermentation of cassava to fufu for 96 h. The resultant wet fufu samples were dried at 65C in a cabinet dryer for 48 h, and were analyzed for functional and sensory characteristics. Fermentation reduced the water-binding capacity of the fufu flour from 176.6% to between 118 and 125%. The pasting characteristics of the traditional and starter culture-fermented fufu flour samples were not significantly different from that of the unfermented cassava flour. When subjected to sensory evaluation, the traditional and starter culture-fermented cassava fufu flour were not significantly different in terms of color, odor and texture, but the cassava fufu flour produced, using starter culture SL19, had the highest overall acceptability (P < 0.05). PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Traditionally, processing of cassava to fufu is usually carried out by using the old stock from a previous fermentation to initiate the fermentation of a new batch. This old method usually results in fufu that has a strong odor that may not be acceptable to some consumers. The use of starter culture like Lactobacillus plantarum will reduce the strong odor of fufu; this will increase its acceptability by consumers and ensure the overall quality. Also, the functional properties of fufu are not affected. The development of lactobacilli strains could help in optimizing the traditional processes, therefore increasing the economic returns. [source] |