DRYING | DEHYDRATION

PRO
Ch. 15 of Fellows
Greensmith, M. 1998. Practical
dehydration 2nd ed. Woodhead.
Cambridge.
 Application of heat under controlled conditions to
remove majority of water normally present in a
food by evaporation or by sublimation.
excludes mechanical separations & membrane
concentration, evaporation and baking

these normally remove much less water than
dehydration.
Main purpose: extend the shelf life (reduction of
Aw)

inhibits microbial growth & enzyme activity

processing temperature is usually insufficient
to cause their inactivation.

any increase in moisture content during
storage will result in rapid spoilage.
 reduction in weight & bulk of food
provides convenient product, easily handled
ingredients.
deterioration of eating quality & nutritional value.

selection of appropriate drying conditions for
individual foods.
Dried foods: coffee, milk, raisins, sultanas and
other fruits, pasta, flours (including bakery
mixes), beans, pulses, nuts, breakfast cereals,
tea and spices.
Dried ingredients: egg powder, flavourings &
colourings, lactose, sucrose or fructose powder,
enzymes & yeasts.
 Theory
Dehydration involves simultaneous application
of heat & removal of moisture from foods (except
for osmotic dehydration).

Please re-read heat and mass transfer (Ch. 1 of

Fellows).

factors control rate at which foods dry:

those related to processing conditions
those related to nature of food
those related to drier design.
 Drying using heated air
Psychrometrics
Inter-related factors control the capacity of air to remove
moisture from a food:
1. amount of water vapour already carried by the air
2. air temperature
3. amount of air that passes over the food.

Amount of water vapour in air : absolute humidity

(moisture content) or relative humidity (RH) (in %).

Psychrometry: study of inter-related properties of air

water vapour systems.

psychrometric chart
 Heat from drying air is absorbed by food &
provides latent heat to evaporate water from
surface.

Temperature of air = the dry-bulb temperature

(measured by a thermometer bulb).
If thermometer bulb is surrounded by a wet
cloth, heat is removed by evaporation of water
from the cloth & temperature falls.

This lower temperature = the wet-bulb
temperature.

Difference between the two temperatures is

used to find RH of air on psychrometric chart.
 An increase in air temperature, or reduction in
RH, causes water to evaporate more rapidly
from a wet surface
produces a greater fall in
temperature.

The dew point : the temperature at which air

becomes saturated with moisture (100% RH)

any further cooling from this point results in

condensation of the water from the air.

Adiabatic cooling lines : the parallel straight lines

sloping across the chart
show how absolute
humidity decreases as the air temperature
increases.
 Mechanism of drying

Factors control rate of drying:

air temperature; humidity; air velocity.

When hot air is blown over a wet food, water vapour

diffuses through a boundary film of air surrounding the
food & is carried away by the moving air
A water vapour pressure
gradient is established from
the moist interior of food to
the dry air.

provides the driving force
for water removal from food.
 Boundary film is a barrier to heat transfer &
water vapour removal during drying.
Thickness of the film by air velocity

if the velocity is low, the boundary film is
thicker

reduces heat transfer coefficient & rate of
water vapour removal.
Water vapour leaves the surface of food &
increases humidity of the surrounding air

reduction in the water vapour pressure
gradient & rate of drying.
The faster the air, the thinner the boundary film
& the faster the rate of drying.
 Characteristics of air necessary for successful
drying when the food is moist:

1. a moderately high dry-bulb temperature

2. a low RH

3. a high air velocity.

 Constant-rate period

and Falling-rate period

 During the falling-rate period(s)

rate of water movement from interior to
surface falls below the rate at which water
evaporates to surrounding air

surface dries out (assuming temperature,
humidity & air velocity are unchanged).
If the same amount of heat is supplied by air,

surface temperature rises

until it reaches dry-bulb temperature of the
drying air.
Most heat damage to food can occur in the
falling-rate period

air temperature is controlled to balance rate
of drying & extent of heat damage.
 Most heat transfer is by convection from drying
air to the surface of food, but there may also be
heat transfer by radiation.

If food is dried in solid trays, there will also be

conduction through the tray to food.

Calculation of heat transfer is often very complex

in drying systems.
 The falling-rate period is usually the longest part
of a drying operation
in some foods (e.g. grain drying) the initial
moisture content is below the critical moisture
content
the falling-rate period is the only part of the
drying curve to be observed.
During the falling-rate period, factors control the
rate of drying change.
Initially the important factors = to those in the
constant-rate period; gradually rate of water
movement (mass transfer) becomes the
controlling factor.
 Mechanisms of water moving from the interior of
the food to surface:
liquid movement by capillary forces, particularly in
porous foods

diffusion of liquids, caused by differences in the

concentration of solutes at the surface & in the interior
of food

diffusion of liquids which are adsorbed in layers at the

surfaces of solid components of food

water vapour diffusion in air spaces within food

caused by vapour pressure gradients.
 During drying, one or more mechanisms may be
taking place; their relative importance can
change as drying proceeds.
E.g. in the 1st part of the falling-rate period, liquid
diffusion may be the main mechanism, whereas
in later parts, vapour diffusion may be more
important.
Sometimes difficult to predict drying times in the
falling-rate period.
The mechanisms depend on the air temperature
& the food pieces size.

unaffected by the RH of air (except in
determining the equilibrium moisture content) &
air velocity.
 Size of food pieces has important effect on
drying rate in constant-rate & falling-rate
periods.

In the constant-rate period,

smaller pieces have a larger surface area
available for evaporation

In the falling-rate period,

smaller pieces have a shorter distance for
moisture to travel through the food.

Calculation of drying rates is further complicated

if foods shrink during the falling-rate period.
 Other factors influence the rate of drying:
Composition and structure of the food
influence on the mechanism of moisture
removal.

E.g. the orientation of fibres in vegetables
(e.g. celery) & protein strands in meat allow
more rapid moisture movement along their
length than across the structure.

moisture is removed more easily from
intercellular spaces than from within cells.

Rupturing cells by blanching or size reduction
increases the rate of drying but may adversely
affect texture of the rehydrated product.

High concentrations of solutes (e.g.= sugars,
salts, gums, starches, etc.) increase viscosity &
lower Aw & reduce the rate of moisture
movement.

Amount of food placed into a drier in relation to

its capacity

in a given drier, faster drying is achieved with
smaller quantities of food.
 Calculation of drying rate

Moisture content of a food
wet weight basis or

a dry weight basis.

Rate of heat transfer

Rate of mass transfer

 During the constant-rate period,
equilibrium between rate of heat transfer to food & rate
of mass transfer in the form of moisture loss from food

Q (J s-1): rate of heat transfer,

hc (Wm-2K-1): surface heat transfer coefficient for convective heating,
A (m2): surface area available for drying,
a (C): average dry bulb temperature of drying air,
s (C): average wet bulb temperature of drying air,
mc (kg s-1): change of mass with time (drying rate),
Kg (kg m-2 s-1): mass transfer coefficient,
Hs (kg moisture per kg dry air): humidity at the surface of food
(saturation humidity),
Ha (kg moisture per kg dry air): humidity of air
(J kg-1): latent heat of vaporisation at the wet bulb temperature.
 Relation surface heat transfer coefficient (hc) to
mass flow rate of air

for parallel air flow:

for perpendicular air flow:

G (kg m-2 s-1): mass flow rate of air per unit area.
 For a tray of food, in which water evaporates
only from the upper surface,
the drying time:

(kg m-3): bulk density of food

x (m): thickness of the bed of food.
 The drying time in the constant rate period:

t (s): the drying time,

Mi (kg per kg of dry solids): initial moisture
content, and
Mc (kg per kg of dry solids): critical moisture
content.
 For water evaporating from a spherical droplet in
a spray drier, the drying time:

(kgm-3): density of the liquid,

r (m): radius of the droplet,
Mf (kg per kg of dry solids): final moisture
content.
 The drying time from the start of the falling-rate period to
the equilibrium moisture content
assumptions concerning, e.g., the nature of moisture
movement and the absence of shrinkage of the food:

Me (kg per kg of dry solids): equilibrium moisture content,

M (kg per kg of dry solids): moisture content at time t
from the start of the falling-rate period,
Ps (Torr): saturated vapour pressure at the wet bulb
temperature
Pa (Torr): partial water vapour pressure.
 Drying using heated surfaces
Slurries of food are deposited on heated steel
drum.
Heat is conducted from hot surface through food
Moisture is evaporated from the exposed
surface.
Resistance to heat transfer:

thermal conductivity of food.

partly dried food lifts off the hot surface
forming a barrier layer of air between the food &
drum.
 Equipment

Hot-air driers

Cost of fuel for heating air
main economic

factor

Overcoming? examples :
insulation of cabinets and ducting
recirculation of exhaust air through the drying
chamber
 recovering heat from the exhaust air to heat
incoming air or fore-warming feed material

use of direct flame heating by natural gas &

low nitrogen oxide burners

drying in two stages

(e.g fluidised beds followed by bin drying or
spray drying followed by fluidised bed drying)

pre-concentrating liquid foods to the highest

solids content possible using multiple effect
evaporation.
 Bin driers
large, cylindrical or rectangular containers fitted with a
mesh base.
Hot air passes up through a bed of food at relatively low
velocities.
high capacity; low capital & running costs; & are mainly
used for finishing after initial drying in other types of
driers.
improve the operating capacity of initial driers by
removing the food when it is in the falling-rate period,
when moisture removal is most time consuming.
deep bed of food permits variations in moisture content
to be equalised & acts as a store to smooth out
fluctuations in the product flow.
foods should be strong to compression & retain spaces
between the pieces to permit the passage of hot air
through the bed.
 Cabinet driers (tray driers)
insulated cabinet fitted with shallow mesh or
perforated trays, each of which contains a thin
(26 cm deep) layer of food.
Hot air is blown through a system of ducts &
baffles to promote uniform air distribution
low capital & maintenance costs; flexible in
operation for different foods.
relatively poor control & produce more variable
product quality as food dries more rapidly on
trays nearest to the heat source.
 Tunnel driers
Layers of food are dried on trays; stacked on
trucks move semi continuously through an
insulated tunnel, having one or more types of air
flow
Food is finished in bin driers.
Dry large quantities of food in a relatively short
time
Superseded by conveyor drying & fluidised bed
drying
Higher energy efficiency, reduced labour costs &
better product quality.
Parallel / Co-current Type
Counterflow / Counter-current
 Conveyor driers (belt driers)
Food is dried on a mesh belt in beds 515 cm deep.

The air flow is initially directed upwards through the bed

of food & then downwards in later stages to prevent
dried food from blowing out of the bed.

2 or 3-stage driers mix & re-pile the partly dried food into
deeper beds

improves uniformity of drying & saves floor space.

Foods are dried to 1015% moisture content then

finished in bin driers.
 2nd application of conveyor driers: foam mat drying
liquid foods are formed into a stable foam by the addition
of a stabiliser & aeration with nitrogen or air.
foam is spread on a perforated belt to a depth of 23mm
& dried rapidly in two stages by parallel & then counter-
current air flows.
Foam mat drying 3x faster than drying a similar
thickness of liquid.
Thin porous mat of dried food is ground to a free-flowing
powder.
Rapid drying & low product temperatures result in a high-
quality product
Large surface area is required for high production rates.
 Fluidised-bed driers
Main features:
a distributor; to evenly distribute air at a uniform
velocity around the bed of material;

a plenum chamber; below the distributor to

produce an homogenous region of air & prevent
localised high velocities

a disengagement or freeboard; region above

the bed to allow dis-entrainment of particles
thrown up by air.
 Air from the fluidised bed is usually fed into
cyclones to separate out fine particles

then added back to the product or
agglomerated
Above the distributor, mesh trays contain a bed
of particulate foods up to 15 cm deep.
Hot air is blown through the bed

food to become suspended & vigorously
agitated (fluidised), exposing the maximum
surface area of food for drying.
These driers are compact and have good control
over drying conditions and high drying rates.
 batch operation, the product is thoroughly mixed
by fluidisation
uniform moisture content.

continuous operation, trays vibrate to move food

under gravity from one tray to the next.

Greater range of moisture contents in the dried

product & bin driers are used for finishing.

Main applications: for small, particulate foods

that are capable of being fluidised without
excessive mechanical damage, incl. yeast,
desiccated coconut, grain, herbs, instant coffee,
sugar & tea.
 Examples development of fluidised-bed drier:
Torbed drier
a fluidised bed of particles is made to rotate around a
torus-shaped chamber by hot air blown directly from a
burner.
Spin-flash drier
hot air enters tangentially and together with the action of
the rotor, causes a turbulent rotating flow of air up
through the chamber
Centrifugal fluidised-bed drier
particulate food is filled into a drying chamber which
rotates at high speed; hot air is forced through the bed of
food to overcome the centrifugal force and fluidise the
particles.
 Kiln driers
Two-storey buildings; a drying room with a slatted floor is
located above a furnace.
Hot air & the products of combustion from the furnace
pass through a bed of food.
Limited control over drying conditions; drying times are
relatively long.

High labour costs; to turn the product regularly, manually

loading and unloading.

Large capacity, easily constructed & maintained at low

cost.
 Pneumatic driers
Moist powders or particulate foods, usually < 40%
moisture & particle size 10500 m, are metered into
metal ducting & suspended in hot air.
In vertical driers the air-flow is adjusted

lighter & smaller particles are carried to a cyclone
separator more rapidly than are heavier & wetter ones
For products require longer residence times the ducting
is formed into a continuous loop (pneumatic ring
driers) and the product is re-circulated until it is
adequately dried.
High temperature short-time ring driers (flash driers) to
expand the starch in potatoes or carrots to give a rigid,
porous structure.
 low capital & maintenance costs,

high drying rates

close control over drying conditions; suitable for

heat sensitive foods.

often used after spray drying

produce foods have a lower moisture content
than normal (e.g. special milk or egg powders
and potato granules).
 Rotary driers
A slightly inclined (up to 5) rotating metal cylinder is
fitted internally with flights to cause food to cascade
through a stream of parallel or counter-current hot air as
it moves through the drier.
Large surface area of food exposed to the air produces
high drying rates & a uniformly dried product.
Suitable for foods tend to mat or stick together in belt or
tray driers.
Damage caused by impact & abrasion in the drier
restricts this method to relatively few foods (e.g. nuts &
cocoa beans).
A slightly inclined, slowly rotating metal cylinder
 Spray driers
A fine dispersion of pre-concentrated food (4060%
moisture) is 1st atomised to form fine droplets then
sprayed into a co- or counter-current flow of heated air at
150300C in a large drying chamber.
Types of atomiser:
Centrifugal atomiser.
Liquid is fed to the centre of a rotating disc or bowl;
Droplets, 5060 m , are flung from the edge to form a
uniform spray.
Pressure nozzle atomiser.
Liquid is forced at a high pressure through a small
aperture to form droplet sizes of 180250 m.
Grooves inside the nozzle
the spray form into a cone
shape & to use the full volume of the drying chamber.
 Two-fluid nozzle atomiser.
Compressed air creates turbulence which atomises the
liquid.

Ultrasonic nozzle atomiser.

A two-stage atomiser; liquid is 1st atomised by a nozzle
atomiser, 2nd using ultrasonic energy to induce further
cavitation.
Nozzle atomisers are susceptible to blockage by
particulate foods; abrasive foods gradually widen the
apertures & increase the average droplet size.
Limited to foods that can be atomized, such as liquids & low
viscosity pastes or purees
 Rapid drying (110 s)
very large surface area of
droplets.
Feed rate is controlled to produce an outlet air
temperature of 90100C,

corresponds to a wet-bulb temperature (and product
temperature) of 4050C to produce little heat damage
to the food.
The dry powder is collected at the base of drier &
removed by a screw conveyor or a pneumatic system
with a cyclone separator.
Large number of designs of atomiser, drying chamber,
air heating & powder collecting systems.
Spray driers may be fitted with fluidised bed facilities to
finish powders taken from the drying chamber.
 Advantages: rapid drying, large-scale continuous
production, low labour costs, & relatively simple
operation & maintenance.
Limitations: high capital costs, requirement for a
relatively high-feed moisture content to ensure that food
can be pumped to the atomiser (higher energy costs &
higher volatile losses)
Development
ultrasonic drying

Small droplets are produced in a liquid by ultrasound

Heated to remove the water.

Rapid drying & the dried residue is collected.

Works well with low-fat solutions, less well with oily or
fatty foods, which do not dry easily.
 Sun and solar drying
the most widely practised
foods are simply laid out in fields or on roofs or other flat
surfaces and turned regularly until dry.
More sophisticated methods (solar drying) collect solar
energy and heat air, which in turn is used for drying.
Solar driers:
direct natural-circulation driers (a combined collector and drying
chamber)
direct driers with a separate collector
indirect forced-convection driers (separate collector and drying
chamber).
 Open-Air Sun Drying
Advantages Disadvantages
Almost without cost Open to dust contamination
& animals attack
Ideal for products Totally dependent on good
where little or no value weather
is added Very slow drying rates with
danger of mold growth
Food usually dried to May not possible to dry to a
close to the home sufficiently low level of
moisture to prevent mold
growth
 simple inexpensive technologies.
poor control over drying conditions;
lower drying rates than in artificial driers;
lower quality & greater variability;
dependent on weather & time of day;
requires a larger labour force.
 Solar Dryers
Solar dryers use a simple construction to more
efficiently make use of the sun heat
Under the correct climatic conditions, they can
provide many advantages over sun drying :
Higher drying temperatures which results in
shorter drying times & the ability to dry to a lower
final moisture content
Protection from dust contamination & from rain
Low cost & simple to construct in local
workshops
 Tent Solar Dryer
Cheap & simple to build
Consist of a frame of wood poles covered with
plastic sheet. Black plastic should be used on
the wall facing away from the sun. The food to
be dried is placed on a rack above the ground
Provide protection against rain, insects and dust
and, in the case of fish for example, can reduce
drying times by 25%
Can be taken down and stored when not in use,
have the disadvantage of being easily damaged
by strong winds
 Brace Solar Dryer
Consists of a wooden box with a hinged
transparent lid
The inside is painted black and the food
supported on a mesh tray above the dryer floor
Air flows into the chamber through holes in the
front and exits from vents at the top of the back
wall
Achieve higher temperatures, and thus shorter
drying times, than tent dryers
 Indirect Solar Dryer

Solar collector which supplies heated air is

separated from chamber containing trays of food
Several advantages over direct dryers:
* the food is not exposed to the direct rays of
the sun which reduces the loss of color and
vitamins.
* the collector can be large and thus heat
greater quantities of air
 Solar Tunnel Dryer
Example Technical Data :
Size : 18 x 2 m
Collector area : 16 m2
Drying area : 20 m2
Air flow rate : 400 1200 m3/hour
Drying air temperature : 30 80C
Heated-surface (/contact) driers
Heat is supplied to the food by conduction

Advantages over hot-air drying:

1. not necessary to heat large volumes of air
before drying begins; the thermal efficiency is
therefore high.

2. may be carried out in the absence of oxygen to

protect components of foods that are easily
oxidised.
 Typical heat consumption: 20003000 kJ kg-1 of
water evaporated vs. 400010,000 kJ kg-1 of
water evaporated for hot-air driers.

Foods have a low thermal conductivity, becomes

lower as the food dries

thin layer of food is needed to conduct heat
rapidly, without causing heat damage.
 Drum driers (roller driers)
Slowly rotating hollow steel drums are
heated internally by pressurised steam
to 120170C.
A thin layer of food is spread uniformly
over outer surface by dipping, spraying,
spreading or by auxiliary feed rollers.
Before the drum has completed one
revolution (within 20 s3 min), dried
food is scraped off by a doctor blade
contacts drum surface uniformly along
its length.
Driers: single drum, double drums, or
twin drums.
 Single drum
greater flexibility, a larger
proportion of the drum area, easier access for
maintenance, no risk of damage caused by
metal objects falling between the drums.

High drying rates, high energy efficiencies,

suitable for slurries.

To produce potato flakes, pre-cooked cereals,

molasses, some dried soups & fruit purees, &
whey or distillers solubles for animal feed
formulations.

High capital cost & heat damage to sensitive

foods caused by high drum temperatures
Drum Dryer : Double Drum
Single Drum Dryer with Multiple Double Drum Dryer with
Applicator Rolls Feed Rolls
wet product is applied to the drum
by means of applicator rolls
Twin Cylinder Dryer with Nip Single Drum Dryer with
Feed Applicator Roll
The thickness of the product film The applicator roll is located
may be varied by adjustment of underneath the drum dryer and
the gap between the drying drums dips into the product. A liquid
or cylinders film is then transferred to the
drying drum
Dip Feed Drum Dryer Single Drum Dryer with Double
A film of the product to be dried is Applicator Roll
picked up on the surface of the The tray containing the feed to
dryer drum as it rotates through a the dryer drum and product film
feed tray mounted below is applied by an intermediate
applicator roll
 Developments:
the use of auxiliary rolls
to remove & re-apply
food during drying; the use
of high-velocity air to increase
the drying rate;
the use of chilled air to cool the product.

Drums may be enclosed in a vacuum chamber to dry

food at lower temperatures but high capital cost

In ball-drying,
drying chamber is fitted with a slowly rotating screw &
contains ceramic balls heated by hot air, blown into the
chamber.
Particulate foods are dried mainly by conduction
Vacuum band & vacuum shelf driers
Food slurry is spread or sprayed onto a steel
belt (or band) which passes over two hollow
drums, within a vacuum chamber at 170 Torr.

The food is dried by steam-heated drum, then by

steam-heated coils or
radiant heaters located
over the band.

The dried food is cooled

by water-cooled drum &
removed by a blade.
 Vacuum shelf driers consist of hollow shelves in a
vacuum chamber.
Food is placed in thin layers on flat metal trays.
A partial vacuum of 170 Torr is drawn in the chamber &
steam or hot water is passed through the shelves to dry
the food.
Rapid drying & limited heat damage to food
suitable
for heat-sensitive foods.
Care to prevent dried food from burning onto trays in
vacuum shelf driers, and shrinkage reduces the contact
between food & heated surfaces of both types of
equipment.
High capital & operating costs; low production rates &
are used mainly to produce puff-dried foods.
Explosion puff drying
involves partially drying food to a moderate
moisture content, then sealing it into a pressure
chamber.

The pressure & temperature in the chamber are

increased, then instantly released.

The rapid loss of pressure causes the food to

expand & develop a fine porous structure.

faster final drying & rapid rehydration.

Sensory & nutritional qualities are well retained.

 Effect on foods
Main changes to texture & loss of flavour or
aroma; changes in colour & nutritional value are
significant in some foods.

Texture
Nature & extent of pre-treatments (e.g. CaCl2
added to blancher water), type & extent of size
reduction & peeling;

affect texture of rehydrated fruits and
vegetables.
 Loss of texture due to
gelatinisation of starch,
crystallisation of cellulose,
localised variations in moisture content during
drying.

permanently distort the relatively rigid cells
a

shrunken shrivelled appearance.

On rehydration the product absorbs water more

slowly & does not regain the firm texture of the
fresh material.
 Drying pieces of meat

aggregation & denaturation of proteins

loss of water-holding capacity, which leads to
toughening of muscle tissue.

Rapid drying & high temperatures cause greater

changes to the texture of foods

As water is removed during drying, solutes move

from the interior of food to the surface.
 The mechanism & rate of movement
are specific for each solute
depend on type of food & drying conditions
used.

High air temperatures (particularly with fruits,

fish & meats), cause complex chemical and
physical changes to solutes at the surface & the
formation of a hard impermeable skin.

case hardening; reduces the rate of drying.

minimised by controlling drying conditions

 Textural characteristics of powders,

related to bulk density & the ease of rehydration.

Bulk density of powders depends on dried particles size

& on whether they are hollow or solid.

determined by nature & composition of food & drying
conditions (e.g. uniformity of droplet size, temperature,
solids content & degree of aeration of the feed liquid).

Low fat foods (e.g. fruit juices, potato and coffee) are
more easily formed into free flowing powders than are
whole milk or meat extracts.
 Powders are instantised by treating individual
particles so that they stick together to form free-
flowing agglomerates or aggregates; relatively
few points of contact.

The surface of each particle is easily wetted

when the powder is rehydrated & the
agglomerates break up to allow particles to sink
below the surface & disperse rapidly through the
liquid.
: wettability, sinkability, dispersibility & solubility.

A powder, to be considered instant, should

complete these four stages within a few
seconds.
 Flavour and aroma

Heat not only vaporises water during drying but

also causes loss of volatile components from
food

Most dried foods have less flavour than the

original.

Extent of loss depends on

temperature & moisture content of food
vapour pressure of the volatiles & their
solubility in water vapour.
 Open porous structure of dried food allows access of
oxygen

aroma loss due to oxidation of volatile components &
lipids during storage.
Rate of deterioration
storage temperature & Aw.
In dried milk the oxidation of lipids produces rancid
flavours
formation of secondary products incl. -
lactones.
Most fruits & vegetables contain only small quantities of
lipid, but oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids to produce
hydroperoxides, which react further by polymerisation,
dehydration or oxidation to produce aldehydes, ketones
and acids, causes rancid & objectionable odours.
Some foods (e.g. carrot) may develop an odour of
violets produced by the oxidation of carotenes to -
ionone.
 These changes are reduced by:
vacuum or gas packing
low storage temperatures
exclusion of ultraviolet or visible light
maintenance of low moisture contents
addition of synthetic antioxidants
preservation of natural anti-oxidants.
 Enzyme glucose oxidase is used to protect dried foods
from oxidation.

Milk powders are also stored under an atmosphere of

nitrogen with 10% carbon dioxide.

Flavour changes prevention (due to oxidative or

hydrolytic enzymes)
- in fruits by the use of sulphur dioxide, ascorbic acid or
citric acid,
- by pasteurisation of milk or fruit juices
- by blanching of vegetables.
 Other methods to retain flavours in dried foods:
recovery of volatiles & their return to the product
during drying

mixing recovered volatiles with flavour fixing

compounds, which are then granulated & added back
to the dried product (e.g. dried meat powders)

addition of enzymes, or activation of naturally

occurring enzymes, to produce flavours from flavour
precursors in the food (e.g. onion and garlic are dried
under conditions that protect the enzymes that
release characteristic flavours).
 Colour
Drying changes surface characteristics of a food; alters
its reflectivity & colour.
In fruits and vegetables,
chemical changes to carotenoid & chlorophyll due to
heat & oxidation during drying
residual PPO activity causes browning during storage.
Prevented by blanching or treatment of fruits with
ascorbic acid or sulphur dioxide.
Sulphur dioxide bleaches anthocyanins
Residual sulphur dioxide is also linked to health
concerns.
 The rate of Maillard browning in stored milk &
fruit products depends on
- water activity of the food
- temperature of storage.

The rate of darkening increases at high drying

temperatures, when the moisture content of the
product exceeds 45% & at storage
temperatures above 38C.
 Nutritional value
In fruits and vegetables,
losses during preparation usually exceed those
caused by the drying operation.
E.g. losses of vitamin C during preparation of
apple flakes: 8% during slicing, 62% from
blanching, 10% from pureeing, & 5% from drum
drying.
Vit. have different solubilities in water & as
drying proceeds
Some vit. (e.g. riboflavin) become
supersaturated & precipitate from solution, so
losses are small.
 Others (e.g. ascorbic acid) are soluble until the
moisture content of the food falls to very low
levels

react with solutes at higher rates as drying
proceeds.

Vitamin C is sensitive to heat & oxidation

Thiamin is heat sensitive, but other water-

soluble vitamins are more stable to heat &
oxidation.
 Oil-soluble nutrients (e.g. essential fatty acids &
vitamins A, D, E and K) are mostly contained
within the dry matter of food & not concentrated
during drying.
Water is a solvent for heavy metal catalysts
promote oxidation of unsaturated nutrients.
As water is removed, the catalysts become more
reactive, & rate of oxidation accelerates.
Fat-soluble vitamins are lost by interaction with
peroxides produced by fat oxidation.
Losses during storage are reduced by lowering
oxygen concentration & storage temperature
and by exclusion of light.
 The biological value & digestibility of proteins in most
foods does not change substantially as a result of drying.
Milk proteins are partially denatured during drum drying,

reduction in solubility of the milk powder & loss of
clotting ability.
Spray drying does not affect the biological value of milk
proteins.
At high storage temperatures & at moisture contents >
appr. 5%, the biological value of milk protein is
decreased by Maillard reactions between lysine &
lactose.
Lysine is heat sensitive & losses in whole milk range
from 310% in spray drying and 540% in drum drying.
 Rehydration
Water that is removed from a food during
dehydration cannot be replaced in the same way
when the food is rehydrated

rehydration is not the reverse of drying
loss of cellular osmotic pressure,
changes in cell membrane permeability,
solute migration,
crystallisation of polysaccharides
coagulation of cellular proteins
 all contribute to texture changes & volatile
losses and are each irreversible.
 Heat reduces the degree of hydration of starch &
the elasticity of cell walls, and coagulates
proteins to reduce their water-holding capacity.

The rate and extent of rehydration may be used

as an indicator of food quality;
those foods that are dried under optimum
conditions suffer less damage & rehydrate more
rapidly & completely than poorly dried foods.
 Freeze Drying (Lyophilization)
Freeze drying
the water content is first
converted to ice & then changed into vapor
without passing back through the water phase
If the water vapor pressure of food is held below
4.58 Torr (610.5 Pa) & the water is frozen, when
food is heated the solid ice sublimes directly to
vapor without melting
vapor removal with a
vacuum pump & condensation on refrigeration
coils
Phase diagram of water
Phase diagram of water
 Frozen food remains rigid during sublimation

resulting in a porous sponge-like dried structure

Ice has a greater volume than water
stretching

of the capillary system in the product

Especially suited to dry solid foods with high value

delicate flavors & colors; have textural &
appearance attributes which cant be well
preserved by any drying method except freeze-
drying
Differences between
conventional drying & freeze drying

Type of foods Rehydration

Temperature Flavor
Pressure Color
Water removal Nutritional value
Food structure Cost
Solute movement
Dried food density
Freeze Drying & Rehydration
 Freeze-Dried Product

A freeze-dried meal of spaghetti and meatballs,

designed for campers: Left, the dried version;
Right, the rehydrated version.
Thank you