Physical and Sensory Properties of Japanese Quince Chips Obtained by Osmotic Dehydration in Fruit Juice Concentrates and Hybrid Drying
Hanna Kowalska,
Agata Marzec,
Ewa Domian,
Ewelina Masiarz,
Agnieszka Ciurzyńska,
Sabina Galus,
Aleksandra Małkiewicz,
Andrzej Lenart,
Jolanta Kowalska
Affiliations
Hanna Kowalska
Department of Food Engineering and Process Management, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159c Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Agata Marzec
Department of Food Engineering and Process Management, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159c Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Ewa Domian
Department of Food Engineering and Process Management, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159c Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Ewelina Masiarz
Department of Food Engineering and Process Management, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159c Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Agnieszka Ciurzyńska
Department of Food Engineering and Process Management, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159c Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Sabina Galus
Department of Food Engineering and Process Management, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159c Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Aleksandra Małkiewicz
Department of Food Engineering and Process Management, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159c Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Andrzej Lenart
Department of Food Engineering and Process Management, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159c Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Jolanta Kowalska
Department of Technology and Food Evaluation, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159c Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Japanese quince has high health value, but due to its taste and texture, it is difficult to eat raw. The use of innovative drying methods to produce dried snack foods from these fruits may be of interest to producers and consumers. The physicochemical and sensory properties of 3 mm slices of Japanese quince fruit (with skin, without seeds) obtained by osmotic pre-treatment in chokeberry and apple juice concentrates, and with the use of convection (convective drying, C-D), freeze-drying (F-D), and convection-microwave-vacuum drying (hybrid) are assessed. The methods of drying osmo-dehydrated slices do not affect the dry matter content. In most dried quince, the water activity is 0.40 or lower. Pre-osmotic dehydration and drying have a significant impact on the mechanical and acoustic properties of quince chips. Sensory attractive chips emit loud acoustic emission (AE) during the breaking test. Chips that are osmo-dehydrated in a mixture of chokeberry juice concentrate and sucrose and dried by a hybrid method are attractive. They have a dark red color given by chokeberry concentrate and a slight sweet (with a slight sour-bitter) taste. The sensory evaluation was useful for determining the quality of the chips in terms of their texture (crispness) tested by mechanical methods. Their sensory ratings (overall desirability as weight of color, taste, crispness, and flavor) are high and similar (from 3.8 to 4.1). The use of innovative drying methods with pre-osmotic treatment allows obtaining dried material with properties comparable to those obtained by the F-D method, but in a much shorter time, i.e., with lower energy and using a simple method.
