Recent trends and future potential of microwave-assisted fish drying

Abstract

Microwave (MW) offers a unique heating mechanism, which volumetrically pushes internal moisture to the surface during the drying of water-rich foods such as fish. However, due to the uneven power distribution, the continuous application of MW energy causes excessive localized heating, resulting in the deterioration of food quality. Incorporation of other drying techniques such as convective, vacuum, osmotic, and freeze-drying with MW has been attempted in the past to solve these shortcomings and applied in different drying systems. This paper investigates the current trends in microwave-assisted drying (MWAD) methods for fish. The available literature on MWAD methods is critically analyzed in terms of energy consumption and change in nutritional components as well as other properties. Additionally, this review explores the potential of MWAD methods for fish drying. This article shows that pulsed microwave convective drying (PMCD) can be implemented in fish drying effectively. Considering the critical need for improving energy efficiency and quality retention in fish drying, PMCD would be a highly promising drying method.

Keywords:

• Fish drying
• microwave-assisted drying
• pulsed microwave
• food quality

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.