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The pea is the small spherical seed of Pisum sativum, which belongs to Leguminosae family. Peas are starchy, but high in fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc. Fresh peas, being highly seasonal and perishable in nature, require suitable preservation techniques to enhance their availability throughout the year (Burande et al., 2008). Thus, a need arises to develop efficient preservation protocols that can not only ensure the nutritive quality but also microbial safety

In the food preservation process, drying or dehydration reduces the moisture content that is needed for the growth and multiplicity of microorganisms that cause food spoilage. Among the most effective and appropriate methods for extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables is osmotic dehydration. This process encourages the movement of water molecules from the food to the osmo‐active solution and a small amount of solute from the solution into the food, resulting in an organoleptic and functional product. Sugar, which is the most popular osmotic agent, presents many health risks. Therefore, this review discusses the mechanisms of osmotic dehydration and the use of unconventional natural sweeteners like honey, jaggery, coconut sugar, stevia, and sugar beet molasses as an osmotic agent. Furthermore, certain non‐thermal methods to help osmotic dehydration have been reviewed that may improve the drying and quality parameters of different fruits. Practical applications The osmotic dehydration process in fruits reduces postharvest losses, as well as maintaining the initial fruit characteristics such as color, aroma, texture, and nutritional content. The uses of natural sweeteners viz. jaggery and honey as osmotic agents have numerous health benefits. Due to these benefits, it can be used at small scales, home‐scale industries, and large‐scale industries. Various methods can be used to enhance osmotic dehydration, such as pulsed electric fields, high pressure, vacuum, microwave, centrifugal force, or ultrasound, which can be applied to large‐scale industries.

The present study investigates the physicochemical quality of potato flakes obtained by convective tray drying (CD) and refraction‐based dying (RBD) techniques. Drying process was optimized using the Box–Behnken design of Response Surface Methodology to study the effect of drying temperature (CD: 50–70°C; RBD: 70–90°C), blanching time (3–5 min), and total soluble solids (8–12°Brix) on potato flakes characteristics. All polynomial regression response surface models obtained were significant (p < .05) with a high coefficient of determination (R2 > 0.836). The dried flakes having high protein content, color (L and b values), hue angle and rehydration ratio; and low reducing sugar, browning index, and water activity were obtained within the overall optimum region defined by drying temperature of 53.63°C, blanching time of 4.98 min and puree total soluble solids 12°Brix for CD. For RBD, the optimized values for drying temperature, blanching time, and puree total soluble solids were 71.18°C, 5 min, and 10.03°Brix, respectively. Practical applications In this article, the optimized process conditions for the drying of potato puree using two different drying methods, namely, convective tray drying and refraction‐based drying were obtained. Potato flakes can be utilized for the fortification of flour, baby foods, and extruded products. The flakes obtained by refraction‐based drying had better nutritive and visible quality thereby enhancing their acceptability for direct use by consumers as well as the food industry.

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