Mid-infrared-assisted freeze drying (MIR-FD) of Jerusalem artichoke cubes were attempted and their performance (processing time, energy consumption, color, water activity, hardness and rehydration) was compared with single-stage freeze dried (FD, control) samples. Two mathematical models could be used to describe the drying curves. It was aimed to improve the drying parameters and product quality of MIR-FD dried material. The effect of mid-infrared pre-drying (MIR) on drying rates of Jerusalem artichoke cubes was examined at different infrared intensity (3 and 6 kW/m 22 ). The values of drying rate considerably changed when the infrared intensity and pre-drying time was increased from 3 to 6 kW/m 22 and from 4 to 5 min. The MIR-FD hybrid drying mode took 15-40% lesser time compared to FD dried samples. Therefore, MIR-FD drying is an effective and economical method. MIR application had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the color of the final product. The FD resulted in a product with significantly lower firmness and slightly higher water uptake (P < 0.05) than samples dried in the MIR-FD. Hybrid drying gave better results -all of the quality parameters -over MIR alone. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L) is available in fresh and processed forms (powder, chips and soft drinks), the Jerusalem artichoke is rich in inulin, sugars, protein, macro and micro elements. Freeze-and mid-infrared drying have been industrially applied in the drying of foodstuffs and pharmaceutical products. The aim of this article is to examine the effectiveness of freeze drying (FD) enhanced with two-stage mid-infrared-freeze drying. The application of the mid-infrared-freeze drying (MIR-FD) produces a fast drying rate and higher drying quality. Our research work confirmed that MIR-FD is a good alternative instead of the FD. The development of new drying possibility for vegetables with good physical, chemical properties may be of interest in regard to the market supply (food supplement, functional food, etc.).

The drying methods tested were hot-air drying (HAD) and freeze-drying (FD), as well as a combination of blanching (100C, 1 min) prior to FD pre-drying and HAD finish drying. The effect of drying methods on moisture content, temperature, energy consumption, duration of drying, rehydration properties, color, texture and sensory were determined. Apple's HAD and FD kinetics was described by an exponential and third-degree polynomial model, while the combined drying-blanching prior to freeze pre-drying and hot-air finish-drying (BFD-HAD) kinetics consisted of two periods: polynomial until a converting point and exponential beyond that point. Among the products, the quality of apple samples processed by FD was the best, followed by BFD-HAD, whereas the products made using HAD were the worst. The drying times obtained for HAD and BFD-HAD were shorter than the drying times obtained for FD. The best BFD-HAD process, from quality and energy consumption considerations, was found to a moisture content of 30% w.b. (BFD time: 12 h), followed by 3 h of HAD. It was observed that BFD-HAD can reduce by about 8 h the time needed for FD. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSApple (Malus domestica L.) is one of the most widely grown fruit crops in the world. Available in fresh and processed forms, apples are rich source of vitamins, organic acids, polyphenols, anthocyanins and minerals. Currently, dehydrating is a frequent practice since dried apples are included in numerous processed foods such as snack products, integral breakfast foods, etc. The aim of this article is to examine the effectiveness of freeze-drying enhanced with two-stage vacuum freeze and hot-air drying. It can be suggested to apply the blanching as pretreatments and combined drying (FD-HAD) for reduction of operational cost. Our research work confirmed that BFD-HAD is a good alternative instead of the FD. The development of new drying techniques possibility for apple with good physical, chemical properties may be of interest in order to the market supply (food supplement, functional food, etc.).Freeze-dried products achieve a high rating for physical, chemical properties: rapid rehydration, little shrinkage, high retention of color, low bulk density, high chemical content, low water activity and superior taste, flavor, aroma. However, FD is very costly because of high investment and operational costs (long process time), limit its application to industrial scale. Long drying times are caused by a high heat transfer resistance that especially exist in the final

Cold-pressing residue of walnut kernel (WKR) and brown linseed (BLR) was applied in wheat flour blends at 100:0, 95:5 and 90:10 ratios, of which enriched breads were baked, then stored for 3 days at ambient temperature. Colour parameters and firmness of bread crumb were measured daily. Bavarian rye-bread (BR) and wholemeal multigrain bread (WMMG) were used as competitive, marketable breads for comparing tests.Effect of oil-seed pressing residue on bread colour and texture 119 The studied oil-seed pressing residues (OSRs) resulted brown colour with different characteristics, depending both on the type of OSR and in comparison with marketed breads, too. The type and the ratio of OSR applied had no influence on the varying of crumb texture (P = 0.107). WKR and BLR enrichment provided stable texture for breads with a 3-day shelf-life, independently from their addition ratio. BLR resulted in softer crumb than WKR; however, this difference was considered to be negligible (P = 0.128). The WKR-and BLR-enriched breads stayed significantly softer at the end of storage time than the marketed breads (P = 0.000). Our results indicate that competitive bakery goods can be produced using oil-seed pressing residue/wheat flour blends.

We aimed to evaluate the green biomass’ of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) quality, through quantitative analysis of microelements, colour characteristics, and UHPLC-MS screening of bioactive constituents. The shelf life examination included sealed raw sweet potato leaves in plastic packs were stored at 6°C and 12°C and the microbiological characteristics were monitored for 2 weeks, through enumeration of mesophilic total plate count, total fungi count, Enterobacteriaceae and mesophilic aerobic spores. We found, that the sweet potato leaves can be considered as the source of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus among the minerals, of which calcium is the most abundant. We identified 17 types of amino acids, 7 vitamins, mainly vitamins belonging to the Vitamin B family. Furthermore, it contained carboxylic acids, flavonoids, polyphenols and aromatic compounds. The sweet potato leaves stored at 6°C was of satisfactory microbiological quality on day 14. Our data suggest that the sweet potato leaves could be a valuable source for healthy nutrition.