Effects of ascorbic acid, salt, lemon juice, and honey on drying kinetics and sensory characteristic of dried mango

Abstract

The effects of ascorbic acid, salt solution, lemon juice, and honey pre-treatment on the drying kinetics and sensory characteristics were studied. Pre-treatments used affected the effective moisture diffusivity and rehydration properties of the dried mangoes. The effective moisture diffusivity values were 2.22 × 10-10 m2/s for ascorbic acid, 1.80 × 10-10 m2/s for salt solution, 2.01 × 10-10 m2/s for lemon juice, 1.93 × 10-10 m2/s for honey pre-treated mangoes, and 2.31 × 10-10 m2/s for the control slices. Pre-treatments enhanced the drying rate potential of mangoes. Among the thin-layer drying models fitted to the experimental data, the Middil model gave the best fit. The ascorbic acid pre-treated samples were the best while the salt solution ones were the poorest with respect to reconstitution capacity. Consumer studies for overall preference for taste, colour, texture, flavour and chewiness of the dried products revealed that there was a higher preference for honey pre-treated dried samples followed by the ascorbic acid, control, lemon juice, and salt solution pre-treated samples. The results demonstrate that these pre-treatments can be applied to enhance the moisture transport during drying and the quality of the dried products