OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF PINEAPPLE - KINETICS AND PRODUCT QUALITY

Osmotic dehydration as an intermediate step in air or vacuum drying of pineapple was studied. Osmotic dehydration kinetics indicated that bo th water loss and solids gain increased with increase of syrup tempera ture and concentration, the former having much more effect for the ran ge of values tested. Equilibrium kinetics was modelled by defining equ ilibrium constants and in non-equilibrium period water loss and solids gain followed the penetration theory of mass transfer. The colour, fl avour and texture of osmo-air dried pineapple indicated that the produ ct was organoleptically acceptable. Copyright (C) 1996 Canadian Instit ute of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd