Drying is a complicated process with simultaneous heat and mass transfer, and food drying is especially very complex because of the differential structure of products. In practice, a food dryer is considerably more complex than a device that merely removes moisture, and effective models are necessary for process design, optimization, energy integration, and control. Although modeling studies in food drying are important, there is no theoretical model which neither is practical nor can it unify the calculations. Therefore the experimental studies prevent their importance in drying and thin layer drying equations are important tools in mathematical modeling of food drying. They are practical and give sufficiently good results. In this study first, the theory of drying was given briefly. Next, general modeling approaches for food drying were explained. Then, commonly used or newly developed thin layer drying equations were shown, and determination of the appropriate model was explained. Afterwards, effective moisture diffusivity and activation energy calculations were expressed. Finally, experimental studies conducted in the last 10 years were reviewed, tabulated, and discussed. It is expected that this comprehensive study will be beneficial to those involved or interested in modeling, design, optimization, and analysis of food drying.

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Dairy powders are produced to increase the shelf life of fresh dairy products and for use as flavoring agents. In this study, 24 cheese powders produced under 7 different conditions were used to investigate the effects of spray-drying parameters (e.g., inlet air temperature, atomization pressure, and outlet air temperature) on the quality of white cheese powder. Composition, color, physical properties, reconstitution, and sensory characteristics of white cheese powders were determined. The results revealed that the white cheese powders produced in this study had low moisture content ratios and water activity values. High outlet air temperatures caused browning and enhanced Maillard reactions. Additionally, high outlet air temperatures increased wettability and dispersibility and decreased the solubility of white cheese powders. Free fat content was positively correlated with inlet air temperature and negatively correlated with outlet air temperature and atomization pressure. Sensory analyses revealed that white cheese powder samples had acceptable sensory characteristics with the exception of the sample produced at an outlet air temperature of 100°C, which had high scores for scorched flavor and color and low scores for cheese flavor.