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Innovative Drying Approaches toward Improvement of the Physical and Bioactive...
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Innovative Drying Approaches toward Improvement of the Physical and Bioactive Properties of Fruit and Vegetable Products

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2022) | Viewed by 19215

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Cristina L. M. Silva

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CBQF—Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina—Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto, Portugal
Interests: modeling and optimization of food processes; design and optimization of food process conditions; predictive microbiology and quality; assessment of quality changes in food due to processing; the formulation of new foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, consumers are aware of the importance of a healthy and sustainable diet. Drying of fruits and vegetables is an excellent approach to producing innovative products—which includes also byproducts—with appealing physical properties that are nutrient-rich.

The development of innovative pretreatments and drying processes continues to be a challenge. Microwave, UV, and sonication, among others, can be used as pretreatment or in combination with drying methods to improve sensory and nutritional quality. Moreover, there is a need for sustainable approaches in terms of using byproducts and/or processes, such as the use of techniques using natural energy sources.

Drying is also an excellent alternative to reduce production, storage, and transportation costs. However, the available information on the impact of drying and rehydration conditions on the final product’s quality remains limited.

This Special Issue of Foods will compile significant scientific contributions detailing the latest progress in this field.

Prof. Dr. Cristina L. M. Silva
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fruits and vegetables
  • drying
  • pretreatments
  • innovation
  • physical properties
  • nutritional quality
  • byproducts
  • rehydration

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2454 KiB  
Article
Modelling and Optimization of the Processing of a Healthy Snack Bar Made of Grape and Tomato Pomaces
by Rocío Santiago-Ramos, Cristina L. M. Silva and Inês N. Ramos
Foods 2022, 11(17), 2676; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11172676 - 2 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2929
Abstract
A snack made of 36% by byproducts of grape and tomato pomaces was developed, also including other ingredients, such as oats, chia, quinoa, honey and peanut butter. The recipe was defined as tasty and healthy by a focus group. The snack was produced [...] Read more.
A snack made of 36% by byproducts of grape and tomato pomaces was developed, also including other ingredients, such as oats, chia, quinoa, honey and peanut butter. The recipe was defined as tasty and healthy by a focus group. The snack was produced by using forced air at three different drying temperatures (50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C). The Newton, Page, Henderson and Pabis, and Midilli–Kucuk models fit the drying curves well. The average values for the Newton’s model drying constants were k50 = 2.71 × 10−1 ± 3 × 10−3 min−1, k60 = 2.76 10−1 ± 4 × 10−3 min−1 and k70 = 3.91 × 10−1 ± 8 × 10−3 min−1 at 50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C, respectively. The product’s quality was assessed in terms of storage with respect to water activity and texture (hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness and resilience). There were no differences among the three tested processing temperatures in terms of their influence the final product’s quality. As there were no significant differences between initial and final water activity and texture attributes at any temperature and they were mainly unaltered during storage, the snack bar was considered stable during this period. This new snack, which includes byproducts from the food industry, reduces food waste and contributes to a circular economic model, simultaneously presenting environmental and economic advantages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Drying Approaches toward Improvement of the Physical and Bioactive Properties of Fruit and Vegetable Products)
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18 pages, 2434 KiB  
Article
Dried Figs Quality Improvement and Process Energy Savings by Combinatory Application of Osmotic Pretreatment and Conventional Air Drying
by Varvara Andreou, Ioanna Thanou, Marianna Giannoglou, Maria C. Giannakourou and George Katsaros
Foods 2021, 10(8), 1846; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10081846 - 10 Aug 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2681
Abstract
This study concerns the implementation of osmotic dehydration (OD) as a pre-treatment of air-drying in fig halves, aiming at drying acceleration, energy savings and product quality improvement. The effect of solid/liquid mass ratio, process temperature (25–45 °C) and duration (up to 300 min) [...] Read more.
This study concerns the implementation of osmotic dehydration (OD) as a pre-treatment of air-drying in fig halves, aiming at drying acceleration, energy savings and product quality improvement. The effect of solid/liquid mass ratio, process temperature (25–45 °C) and duration (up to 300 min) on water activity (aw) and transport phenomena during OD, was modelled. The effective diffusion coefficients, drying time and energy consumption, were also calculated during air-drying at 50–70 °C. At optimum OD conditions (90 min, 45 °C), the highest water loss and solid gain ratio were achieved, while the aw (equal to an initial value 0.986) was decreased to 0.929. Air-drying time of OD- and control samples was estimated at 12 and 21 h, at 60 °C, respectively, decreasing the required energy by up to 31.1%. Quality of dried figs was systematically monitored during storage. OD-assisted air-drying led to a product of improved quality and extended shelf-life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Drying Approaches toward Improvement of the Physical and Bioactive Properties of Fruit and Vegetable Products)
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16 pages, 1658 KiB  
Article
Aloe vera Gel Drying by Refractance Window®: Drying Kinetics and High-Quality Retention
by Alfredo A. Ayala-Aponte, José D. Cárdenas-Nieto and Diego F. Tirado
Foods 2021, 10(7), 1445; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10071445 - 22 Jun 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4516
Abstract
In most cases, conventional drying produces inferior quality products and requires higher drying times. A continuous pilot Refractance Window® equipment was used to dry Aloe vera gel slabs of 5 and 10 mm thick at 60, 70, 80, and 90 °C, seeking [...] Read more.
In most cases, conventional drying produces inferior quality products and requires higher drying times. A continuous pilot Refractance Window® equipment was used to dry Aloe vera gel slabs of 5 and 10 mm thick at 60, 70, 80, and 90 °C, seeking a dry product with high-quality retention. Based on five empirical models, drying kinetics, diffusion coefficient, and activation energy were analyzed. Midilli–Kuck was the best predicting model. Short drying times (55–270 min) were needed to reach 0.10 g water/g solid. In addition, the technique yielded samples with high rehydration capacity (24–29 g water/g solid); high retention of color (∆E, 3.74–4.39); relatively low losses of vitamin C (37–59%) and vitamin E (28–37%). Regardless of the condition of temperature and sample thickness, a high-quality dried Aloe vera gel could be obtained. Compared with other methods, Refractance Window® drying of Aloe vera achieved shorter drying times with higher quality retention in terms of color, vitamins C and E, and rehydration. Finally, the dried Aloe vera gel could be reconstituted to a gel close to its fresh state by rehydration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Drying Approaches toward Improvement of the Physical and Bioactive Properties of Fruit and Vegetable Products)
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20 pages, 2689 KiB  
Article
Optimization of the Drum Drying Parameters and Citric Acid Level to Produce Purple Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) Powder Using Response Surface Methodology
by Sri Sampath Janaka Senevirathna, Nurul Shazini Ramli, Ezzat Mohamad Azman, Nurul Hanisah Juhari and Roselina Karim
Foods 2021, 10(6), 1378; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10061378 - 15 Jun 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3972
Abstract
Purple sweet potato (PSP) is a rich source of anthocyanins, but the anthocyanin content and color can be affected by the drying method and processing condition. Response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used to investigate the effects of citric [...] Read more.
Purple sweet potato (PSP) is a rich source of anthocyanins, but the anthocyanin content and color can be affected by the drying method and processing condition. Response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used to investigate the effects of citric acid (CA) concentration, steam pressure (SP) and rotation speed (DS) on the physicochemical and functional properties of drum-dried purple sweet potato powder (PSPP). The anthocyanins of the PSPP were analyzed using mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization and twelve anthocyanins were identified. The results indicated that the moisture content (4.80 ± 0.17–9.97 ± 0.03%) and water activity (0.290 ± 0.004–0.47 ± 0.001) (p < 0.05) decreased with increasing drum temperature as well as with reduced drum rotating speed. CA had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the color and total anthocyanin content (101.83 ± 2.20–124.09 ± 2.89 mg/100 g) of the PSPP. High SP and low DS negatively affected the antioxidant properties of the PSPP. DPPH value of the PSPP ranged from 20.41 ± 0.79 to 30.79 ± 1.00 μmol TE/g. The optimal parameters were achieved at 0.59% CA, 499.8 kPa SP and 3 rpm DS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Drying Approaches toward Improvement of the Physical and Bioactive Properties of Fruit and Vegetable Products)
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18 pages, 3114 KiB  
Article
Combined Hot Air, Microwave, and Infrared Drying of Hawthorn Fruit: Effects of Ultrasonic Pretreatment on Drying Time, Energy, Qualitative, and Bioactive Compounds’ Properties
by Yousef Abbaspour-Gilandeh, Mohammad Kaveh, Hamideh Fatemi and Muhammad Aziz
Foods 2021, 10(5), 1006; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10051006 - 4 May 2021
Cited by 47 | Viewed by 4004
Abstract
The present study aimed to examine the effect of ultrasonic pretreatment and hot air, microwave–hot-air, infrared–hot air, and freeze-drying on the drying time, specific energy (SE), qualitative properties (i.e., color, shrinkage, and rehydration ratio), and bioactive compounds’ properties (i.e., antioxidant activity, phenolic, and [...] Read more.
The present study aimed to examine the effect of ultrasonic pretreatment and hot air, microwave–hot-air, infrared–hot air, and freeze-drying on the drying time, specific energy (SE), qualitative properties (i.e., color, shrinkage, and rehydration ratio), and bioactive compounds’ properties (i.e., antioxidant activity, phenolic, and flavonoid contents) of hawthorn fruit. Drying of hawthorn was conducted from 45 min for the ultrasonic + microwave–hot-air drying to 1280 min for the freeze-drying method. The lowest amount of SE was obtained using the ultrasonic-microwave–hot-air drying method, which was 47.57 MJ/kg. The lowest values in color changes (12.25) and shrinkage (17.21%) were recorded for the freeze-drying method, while the highest amounts for these traits were 45.57% and 66.75% in the HA drying, respectively. In general, the use of different drying methods reduces the antioxidant capacity (AC), total phenolic content (TPC), and total flavonoid content (TFC) during processing compared to fresh samples. The highest values for AC, TPC, TFC, and the rehydration ratio were 30.69%, 73.07 mg-GAE/gdw, 65.93 mg-QE/gdw, and 2.02 for the freeze-drying method, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Drying Approaches toward Improvement of the Physical and Bioactive Properties of Fruit and Vegetable Products)
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