Effects of sonication and freezing on the color, mechanical and thermophysical properties of osmo-microwave-vacuum dried cranberries

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of sonication (S), convective freezing (F), convective freezing preceded by sonication (SF) as well as cryogenic freezing (N) on the osmo-microwave-vacuum drying kinetics, energy usage and properties of dried cranberries such as moisture content, moisture diffusion, water activity, density, porosity, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, volumetric heat capacity, lightness, redness, yellowness, total differences in color, saturation and hue, hardness, cohesiveness, springiness and chewiness. Osmo-microwave-vacuum drying of cranberries took from 13.5 to 16.0 min. All initial treatments increased the moisture diffusivity and thus reduced the drying time. The most energy effective method was osmo-microwave-vacuum drying preceded by sonication (S) of fruits. Osmo-microwave-drying of cranberries subjected to convective freezing preceded by sonication (SF) resulted in the highest lightness (32.5 ± 0.5), redness (33.9 ± 0.7) and yellowness (11.3 ± 0.5) of fruits, as well as the lowest cohesion (the lowest resistant to stress associated with manufacturing, packaging, storage, and delivery). The lowest hardness, i.e. 12.3 ± 0.4 N and the highest cohesiveness and springiness, i.e. 0.38 ± 0.02 and 0.74 ± 0.03 of dried fruits, were noted for berries subjected to initial cryogenic freezing (N). Cryogenic freezing (N) combined with osmo-microwave-vacuum drying resulted in the largest color changes of fruits and the highest thermal conductivity. Sonicated and convectively frozen (SF) fruits were characterized by the highest thermal diffusivity. Sonication (S), convective freezing (F) and their combination (SF) significantly reduced the volumetric heat capacity of cranberry fruits.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa Nr 461252 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2021).