Quality Properties and Headspace Volatiles of Hot Air-Dried Strawberries

Strawberry is one of the most important soft fruit in food industry. With its flavor and antioxidant content, it is widely used mainly in confectionery and beverage industry. Strawberries are perishable and this limits their usage in foods. For that reason, drying is one of the solutions to make them durable. The aim of this study is to analyze certain quality parameters and headspace volatiles of hot air-dried 'Florida Fortuna' and 'Osmanlı' strawberries (Fragaria xananassa) at 50, 60 and 70°C. The results showed that drying the strawberry samples at high drying temperature caused a decrease in acidity and bulk density and a deterioration in ascorbic acid content. However, total phenolic contents and total color difference values of both of strawberry samples increased with drying process. A total of 24 headspace volatiles were detected in dried strawberries. The most abundant volatiles were dimethyl sulfide, acetic acid and acetone. The highest number of compound groups were aldehydes, acids, esters and sugar degradation products, respectively. The highest retention of fresh strawberry volatiles and minimum formation of sugar degradation products were obtained by drying at low temperature.