COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CONVECTIVE, INFRARED, AND MICROWAVE DEHYDRATION TECHNIQUES ON THE DRYING KINETICS, PRODUCT YIELD, AND ORGANOLEPTIC QUALITY OF SWEET CHERRY CULTIVARS IN UZBEKISTAN
Keywords:
sweet cherry, Convective, Infrared, Microwave dryers, yield of dried products.Abstract
This study investigates the technological feasibility and qualitative outcomes of processing two commercially significant sweet cherry cultivars, 'Volovye Serdse' and 'Drogana Jeltaya' in Uzbekistan, utilizing three distinct drying methodologies: convective, infrared, and microwave dehydration. The experiment analyzed the impact of fruit morphology – specifically comparing whole fruits versus fruits with stones removed – on drying duration, final product yield, and organoleptic quality. Results indicate that the convective drying of stoneless 'Drogana Jeltaya' samples exhibited the most favorable balance of processing efficiency (43.7 hours) and sensory quality (4.8/5.0 points). Conversely, microwave drying of whole fruits necessitated the most prolonged processing times (up to 89.4 hours), negatively correlating with quality scores in the 'Volovye Serdse' variety. This paper discusses the thermodynamic and physiochemical implications of these findings for industrial fruit processing.
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