DRYING CHARACTERISTICS, MINERAL CONTENT, TEXTURE AND SENSORIAL PROPERTIES OF PUMPKIN FRUIT LEATHER

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Özkan Karabacak A. , Suna S., Dorak S., Çopur Ö. U.

Latin American Applied Research, vol.51, no.3, pp.193-201, 2021 (Journal Indexed in SCI Expanded)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 51 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Title of Journal : Latin American Applied Research
  • Page Numbers: pp.193-201

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investi-gate the influences of hot air (HAD: 50, 60, 70°C), vac-uum (VD: 50, 60, 70°C at 300 mbar) and microwave methods (MWD: 90, 180W) on drying characteristics, effective moisture diffusivity (Deff), mineral content, texture, and sensorial properties of pumpkin pestils. MWD led to the highest drying rate and the lowest drying time in all methods. Page and Modified Page were ideally fitted to experimental results among seven thin layer drying models. Mineral content (Ca, K, Na, P, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn) of the pestils showed higher values than non-dried (paste) mixture. Signifi-cant differences were determined between textural features of the pestils (p < 0.05). Furthermore, prod-ucts dried with HAD and VD were preferred rather than MWD in terms of sensorial properties.