Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different pretreatment methods (blanching, microwave, and pulsed electric field [PEF]) on drying and rehydration behavior of okra. Drying rates were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by the different pretreatments. The control samples had the lowest coefficient of diffusivity while samples pretreated with PEF at maximum energy input (4 kV/cm, 500 nF) had the highest coefficient. A simple exponential model used for describing the drying behavior of okra gave moisture diffusivity values ranging between 4.56 × 10−10 and 8.05 × 10−10 m2/s and the coefficient of determination values were between 0.94 and 0.98. Rehydration capacities of the control and pretreated samples were significantly different.
Notes
Moisture diffusivity for drying of okra pretreated with different methods. Means with the same letter are not significantly different.