Impact of Different Drying Temperatures and Osmotic Treatments on Quality of Pineapple Slices during Storage

Abstract

The investigation was carried out using different drying temperatures and osmotic treatments. Storage study was also carried out for a period of 3 months for pineapple slices packed in HDPE bags. The effect on dehydrated pineapple samples determined by moisture content, ash, ascorbic acid, rehydration ratio and pH content. The highest moisture value was found 8.22% for control sample dried at 50°C after 90 days of storage while lowest 4.49% for 60°Brix sample dried at 70°C before storage. The highest ash value was found 3.80% 50°Brix treated sample dried at 50°C before storage while lowest 0.80% for control sample dried at 70°C after 90 days of storage. The highest ascorbic acid value was found 169.1 mg/100 g for 50°Brix treated sample dried at 50°C before storage while lowest 79.8 mg/100 g for control sample dried at 70°C after 90 days of storage. The highest rehydration ratio value was found 4.88 for control sample dried at 50°C before storage while lowest 2.57 for 60°Brix treated sample dried at 70°C after 90 days of storage. The highest pH value was found 5.2 for 50°Brix sample dried at 50°C before storage while lowest was found 4.6 for control sample dried at 70°C after 90 days of storage packed in HDPE bags. In most of the quality characteristics hot air oven drying at 50°C for 50°Brix sugar solution treated sample presented better values in comparison to 60°Brix and control samples.