Research on the Process of Convective Drying of Apples and Apricots Using an Original Drying Installation

Ionuț Dumitru Veleșcu, Roxana Nicoleta Rațu, Vlad-Nicolae Arsenoaia, Radu Roșca, Petru Marian Cârlescu () and Ioan Țenu
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Ionuț Dumitru Veleșcu: Department of Food Technologies, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Roxana Nicoleta Rațu: Department of Food Technologies, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Vlad-Nicolae Arsenoaia: Department of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Radu Roșca: Department of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Petru Marian Cârlescu: Department of Food Technologies, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Ioan Țenu: Department of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-32

Abstract: After being harvested, fresh apples and apricots have a high moisture content and are put through a drying process to reduce waste and lengthen shelf life. This study intends to evaluate the physicochemical parameters during moisture removal and product heating in order to conduct an experimental investigation of the convective drying of apples and apricots in a pilot drying installation. The drying agent’s temperature and/or speed can be adjusted using the pilot installation. About the raw materials: the apricots (Neptun variety) were dried and cut into halves, while the apples (Golden Delicious variety) were dried and cut into 4 mm thick slices. The fruits’ drying properties were observed at 50 °C, 60 °C, 70 °C, and 80 °C, air speeds of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 m/s, and relative air humidity levels of 40–45%. Findings of the ascorbic acid content, color, heating, and dimensional fluctuations are provided and examined. Increased air velocity and temperature had the expected effect of increasing water loss, solid gain, and shrinking. Depending on the drying conditions, different color characteristics were applied.

Keywords: fruits; convective drying; moisture content; quality; color (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:4:p:820-:d:1113472

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