Peach dehydration process using the forced convection method

Abstract

The invention relates to a process for dehydrating peaches by the forced convection method, which can be applied to food industry enterprises, in domestic conditions, in laboratories and research centers related to the drying process. Dehydration of peaches by the forced convection method is ensured by a well-studied and established process, which according to the invention consists of performing the following stages: stage I involves choosing peaches suitable for drying, varieties with a slightly adherent stone from the pulp, ripe, swept peaches are selected, with a firmness of around 1.0 kgf/cm2 and a moisture content of about 90%, the peaches are washed, organoleptically examined and cut using a slicer into spherical slices with an exact thickness of 3 mm; stage II involves portioning a predetermined amount of slices and arranging them on the perforated support in the drying chamber in a horizontal position in a single layer with a thickness of 3 mm, without overlaps; stage III involves dehydrating peaches by the forced convection method, as a thermal agent the air in the room is used with a temperature of 20 - 25°C, relative air humidity around 60%, normal atmospheric pressure, dehydration takes place at a temperature of 55 - 65 ± 0.5°C and an air speed of 1.0 - 2.0 m/s in the drying chamber and stage IV involves obtaining dehydrated peaches after a period of 250 - 300 min, the peaches are sufficiently dehydrated, the final humidity is a maximum of 20%. Peaches dehydrated in the following way can be stored for a long time of 25 - 30 days without being packaged or vacuumed. In this way, a high quality finished product is obtained with an attractive, natural color, typical of dehydrated fruits, with reduced duration and energy consumption of 6 – 8 kW.