Softening of dried Vangueria infausta using maltodextrin and sucrose was investigated experimentally. The pulp of V. infausta was dried in a convective dryer, the influence of drying temperature as well as relationship between water content and water activity were examined. In this study, 48 samples of V. infausta pulp, with and without maltodextrin or sucrose, were dried at air temperatures of 60 and 80°C, at a constant air velocity of 3 m/s, for 0-240 min, and until constant weight. The water content, water activity, hardness and toughness were evaluated throughout the drying process. Samples dried at 80°C exhibited shorter drying times than samples dried at 60°C. The water activity of fruit dried for 240 min at 80°C varied from 0.633 to 0.759, and the fruit was thus safe regarding microbiological spoilage. The hardness and toughness of the dried fruit pulp increased with the reduction in water content, and it was observed that samples of pure pulp became unacceptably hard and tough, when dried to the level needed to obtain microbiological stability. The addition of sucrose as well as maltodextrin has shown to be able to reduce the hardness as well as the toughness of the dried fruit pulp; which can be considered as a strategy to obtain dried fruit pulp with suitable consistency.
The loss of aroma components after drying the fruit of Vangueria infausta L. was studied by means of convective air drying and gas chromatography techniques. The samples were dried at 80 C, with an air flow of 3 m/s at different drying times in the range of 60 up to 420 min. Aroma composition, dry matter, and water activity were measured for each sample throughout the drying time.The study shows that the targeted aroma components present in the fresh fruit sample identified in our previous work (hexanoic acid, methyl hexanoate, methyl octanoate, octanoic acid, ethyl hexanoate, and ethyl octanoate) are retained in the matrix for at least 240 min of drying. Samples dried for 300 min showed decreased amounts of volatiles and practically no aromas were found after 420 min. It is hypothesized that the results are explained as a consequence of the crystallization of sugars during the drying process. The suggested explanation is supported by a prediction of the water activity that is critical for obtaining crystallization of a mixture of sugars corresponding to the fruit.
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