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Apple Pectic Gel Produced by Dehydration

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Abstract

A novel, flexible sheet-like food formed by the high methoxyl pectin–sugar–acid gelation during drying of apple puree was investigated to characterize drying-related properties. Product volume was reduced by 68% over the process, and this shrinkage was successfully modeled by assuming the volume reduction equal to the volume of water evaporated. The sorption isotherm at 25 °C was determined, and a new expression for the moisture content, W, as a function of water activity, a w, of the type \(W\,{\text{ = }}\,{\text{C}}_{\text{1}} \,{\text{exp}}\,\left( {{\text{C}}_{\text{2}} \,a_w^{{\text{C}}3} } \right)\) resulted as the most accurate for this J-shaped isotherm. The drying kinetics was studied at 50, 60, and 80 °C in a tray dryer. No constant drying rate period was found, and the drying curve was divided in high- and low-moisture zones. For high moistures, an internal–external mixed control diffusive model coupling mass and heat transfer was applied to obtain a mass transfer Biot number of 2.1. In the low-moisture zone, a diffusive, isothermal drying model for strict internal control was utilized. Diffusivities varied around 1 × 10–9 m2/s for high moistures and were about ten times lower at low moistures, although the activation energies were comparable (15,259 and 16,800 J/mol, respectively). The drying time at 60 °C was 6.67 h. The product scored four points out of five in a sensory evaluation of general acceptability.

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Abbreviations

A :

mass transfer area for evaporation (m2)

a w :

water activity, decimal

A h and B h :

fitting parameters of the Halsey model

A o and B o :

fitting parameters of the Oswin model

a, b, c, and d :

coefficients of the third degree polynomials W = f(t)

Bi:

mass transfer Biot number

C p :

specific heat of apples (J kg−1 K−1)

C :

constant of the GAB model

C1, C2, C3 :

parameters of the new sorption model

D :

effective diffusion coefficient of water (m2/s)

d :

average laminate thickness (m)

D 0 :

Arrhenius preexponential factor (m2/s)

E a :

activation energy (J/mol)

f :

multiplier of the preliminary Arrhenius preexponential factor

h :

heat transfer coefficient (W/°C m2)

h a :

air absolute humidity (kg vapor/kg dry air)

h r :

air relative humidity (decimal)

k :

constant of the GAB model

L wd :

product heat of desorption (J/kg)

L w :

heat of vaporization of water (J/kg)

m :

product mass at any time (kg)

m 0 :

initial product mass (kg)

m d :

product dry matter (kg)

m wev :

mass of water evaporated (kg)

MSS:

sum of squares of the deviation

M 1n, M 2n, M 3n and M 4n :

values of parameters of Eq. 15

r 2 :

coefficient of determination

R :

universal gas constant 8.314 J mol−1 K−1

t :

time (s)

T a :

air temperature (°C)

T 0 :

product temperature at t = 0 (°C)

T :

product temperature (°C)

V :

product volume at W (m3)

V 0 :

initial product volume (m3)

V d :

dry matter volume (m3)

V wev :

volume of water evaporated (m3)

W :

moisture content (dec., d.b.)

W :

product average moisture content (dec., d.b.)

W e :

equilibrium moisture content (dec., d.b.)

W 0 :

initial moisture content (dec., d.b.)

W m :

monolayer moisture content of the GAB model (dec., d.b.)

W ad :

dimensionless moisture content

β n :

roots of the equation β n tan β n − Bi = 0

ρ :

product density (kg/m3)

ρ d :

dry matter density (kg/m3)

ρ w :

liquid water density (kg/m3)

Subscripts :

 

hm :

high-moisture zone

lm :

low-moisture zone

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT), Argentina, for providing funding to Project PICT 2002 09-12196 and to the Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas, CICPBA, CONICET, and Universidad Nacional de La Plata from Argentina for their permanent support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos (CIDCA), CONICET, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Calle 47 y 116, B1900 AJJ, La Plata, Argentina

    Evangelina Leiva Díaz, Leda Giannuzzi & Sergio A. Giner

  2. Facultad de Ingeniería, UNLP, 47 y 116, La Plata, 1900, Argentina

    Evangelina Leiva Díaz & Sergio A. Giner

  3. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Sergio A. Giner

  4. CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Evangelina Leiva Díaz & Leda Giannuzzi

Authors
  1. Evangelina Leiva Díaz
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  2. Leda Giannuzzi
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  3. Sergio A. Giner
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Correspondence to Sergio A. Giner.

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Leiva Díaz, E., Giannuzzi, L. & Giner, S.A. Apple Pectic Gel Produced by Dehydration. Food Bioprocess Technol 2, 194–207 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-007-0035-9

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