Influence of ultrasound and osmotic dehydration pretreatments on drying and quality properties of persimmon fruit

In this study, the effect of the ultrasound and osmotic dehydration pretreatments before the convective drying of the persimmon fruit was assessed via their drying behavior and quality properties. Ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration (30 °C, 45 °Brix) was performed at 35 kHz for 10, 20, and 30 min. Afterward, samples were placed first in 45 then in 70 °Brix sucrose solutions; the solutions were next shaken at 100 rpm. The control group without ultrasound treatment dehydrated osmotically. The samples were dried in a tray drier at a temperature of 60 °C and an air velocity of 1.5 m/s. Ultrasound-assisted osmotic drying treatments increased water loss and sugar gain; moreover, the osmotic dehydration time was shorter than in the untreated group. The ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration demonstrated a significantly decreased drying time, increased drying rates, and a 21% increase in effective water diffusivity by 30 min. The ultrasound pretreated osmotic dehydration prior to hot air-drying decreased the total required drying time. The ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration affected the rehydration rate and total phenolic content significantly and there was no significant difference between the color change (ΔE, ΔC, and Hue°) of the ultrasound treatment (30 min) group and the untreated group.