Osmotic dehydration of pineapple with calcium and ascorbic acid impregnation

• Grant number: 10/11412-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2010
• End date: August 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Maria Aparecida Mauro
• Grantee: Milena de Almeida Fernandes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the osmotic dehydration of pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merril), variety Pérola, in sucrose solution with added calcium lactate and ascorbic acid. The kinetics of osmotic dehydration will be determined at different concentrations of sucrose and calcium lactate, keeping constant the concentration of ascorbic acid in dehydrating solution. The mass transfer of the different components as well as changes in physical characteristics of the product will be evaluated at different process conditions. Diffusion coefficients of water, sucrose, calcium and ascorbic acid will be obtained. This study, whose objective is to determine efficient conditions of osmotic dehydration, is part of a wider project where is studied the previous treatments to convective drying of fruits and vegetables, aiming to enhance the nutritional and sensory quality of dehydrated products. It surveyed the pineapple osmotically pretreated in order to obtain an intermediate moisture dried fruit with superior nutritional and sensory quality of dried fruit with no pretreatment. The application of osmotic dehydration aims to reduce the convective drying times and the energy consumption, increase its value through the impregnation of nutrients and improve the sensory properties of the dehydrated product. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SILVA, KEILA S.; FERNANDES, MILENA A.; MAURO, MARIA A.. Effect of calcium on the osmotic dehydration kinetics and quality of pineapple. Journal of Food Engineering, v. 134, p. 37-44, AUG 2014. (10/11412-0)