Optimization of frozen sour cherries vacuum drying process.

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Agricultural Engineering

Background:

• Vacuum drying is a method used for preserving fruits.
• Optimizing vacuum drying parameters is crucial for retaining health-beneficial compounds and textural properties in sour cherries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize the vacuum-drying process for frozen sour cherries.
• To preserve health-beneficial phytochemicals and textural characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Investigated vacuum drying of frozen sour cherries within a temperature range of 46-74°C and pressure range of 17-583mbar.
• Utilized a new vacuum-dryer equipment design.
• Assessed quality indicators including total solids, a(w) value, total phenolics, vitamin C, antioxidant activity, anthocyanin content, total color change, and firmness.

Main Results:

• Established optimal vacuum-drying conditions at 54.03°C and 148.16mbar.
• Validation experiments confirmed the adequacy of the predictive models under optimal conditions.
• Predicted quality attributes at optimal conditions included: 744mg CAE/100g dw total phenolics, 1.44mg/100g dw vitamin C, 125mg/100g dw anthocyanins, and 3395.4g firmness.

Conclusions:

• The investigated parameters significantly impact the quality of vacuum-dried sour cherries.
• The optimized vacuum-drying conditions effectively preserve key phytochemicals and textural attributes.
• This research provides a basis for industrial application of optimized vacuum drying for sour cherries.