Drying characteristics, selection of analytical model and development of artificial neural network (ANN) models of 1 cm(3) paneer at low pressure superheated steam drying (LPSSD) were studied. Effects of steam temperature and pressure on drying rates were determined. Page's model was selected as the best predictive model. Second degree polynomial, non linear regression analysis resulted in a good agreement of defined model by changing the values of temperature and corresponding pressure. Optimized ANN models were developed for all data set. The correlation coefficient for all data set was >0.98 in all cases.

Paneer is highly perishable at ambient conditions and its shelf-life is very low. At high temperature, it develops a sour smell, and bitter taste. Drying can be one of the methods to increase shelf-life. Drying experiments were conducted at 62, 72 and 82°C and 10, 14 and 18 kPa absolute pressures with superheated steam. The product quality was judged by instrumental texture profi le. Hardness, adhesiveness, gumminess and chewiness increased with increase in temperature and decreased with increase in pressure. Springiness and cohesiveness, however, decreased with increase in temperature and pressure. Textural properties of fresh and rehydrated paneer indicated large variation on hardness, adhesiveness and resilience whereas springiness, cohesiveness and chewiness had marginal variation as compared to fresh paneer.

Attempts were made to understand the drying kinetics, different heats involved, and change in physiochemical properties during Refractance Window (RW) drying of strawberry puree on an in‐house fabricated RW drier. RW drying of puree was conducted at 75°C water temperature with 1.5 mm thickness. The drying was carried out from initial moisture content 614% (db) to 5.1% (db) with1.2 m/s exhaust air velocity. RW drying took place only in the falling rate period. The sensible heat of strawberry puree, convective heat loss from puree surface to air, and convective heat loss from the bottom surface (hot water to air) of the dryer were 70, 205, and 61.96 W, respectively. The evaporative capacity of 5.28 kg m−2 hr−1 was calculated at experimental parameters. This confirms that the drying system is advantageous. RW dried strawberry puree was rehydrated as exact of fresh strawberry puree considering total solids. Total phenolic content and ascorbic acid were significantly (p < .05) reduced from 246.33 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) (fresh strawberry puree) to 204.67 mg GAE per 100 g (reconstituted RW dried strawberry puree); 33.31–28.54 mg/100 g, respectively. Color characterization through L*, a*, b*, darkness factor (b*/a*), chroma (C), and hue angle (h*) revealed that reconstituted RW dried puree sample was darker compared with fresh puree. Practical Applications Among various drying methods of fruit purees, hot air drying is the most widely used. It results in an unpleasurable taste and color. During the falling rate drying period, the less thermal conductivity of fruit puree restricts heat transfer in conventional drying. Refractance Window (RW) drying adopts low‐temperature drying for less time, which leads to advantages like effective and economical drying. RW drying technology can be promising at the commercial level in product quality and much‐reduced production cost.