USE OF OSMODEHYDROFROZEN FRUIT CUBES IN YOGURT

The use of osmodehydrofrozen apricot and peach cubes was studied in an effort to overcome the problem of whey separation and the use of pres ervatives in the fruit of fruit yogurt. Two levels of solids content i n the fruit were obtained using the osmodehydration pre-freezing step alone and this step followed by air dehydration. The in crease in tota l solids, and the decrease in water activity and whey separation in yo gurt were directly correlated with the fruit dehydration levels. Senso ry evaluations indicated that fruit with the higher solids content sig nificantly improved consistency and reduced whey separation of the yog urt.