Kinetics of pumpkin dehydration

Abstract

The paper has studied the effect of drying temperature (50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100ºC) and wind speed (1.3; 1.7; 3.3; 4.1 m/s) on the kinetics of dehydration in pumpkin. The experimental data were satisfactorily fitted to the generalized drying curve model, but closer correlations were achieved after dividing the period of the drying speed decrease in two parts. The drying period was highly affected by air temperature and wind speed during the drying process, while blanching before drying has exerted a negligible influence. The carotenoids content from dried pumpkin was measured and we found that drying at a higher than 70ºC temperature led to their destruction. The carotenoids content in the blanched sample was by 39% higher than in the control.