Dehydration of Foods

Completely up-to-date and organized for easy use this one-of-a-kind reference integrates basic concepts with hand-on techniques for food dehydration from an engineering point of view. It discusses a wide range of scientific and technical information, from the physical chemical and microbiological changes in food dehydration to its packaging aspects. The first section of the book provides a thorough review of topics such as water-air mixtures, characteristics of dehydrated food, glass transition temperature, enzymatic and nonenzymatic reactions, destruction of nutrients and aromas, and descriptions of drying processes based on different theoretical approaches. The second half of the text focuses on the specific methods used in the dehydration process, including the mass and energy balances, with illustrations on each of the drying alternatives. The drying operations described are: cabinet, spray, drum drying, freeze dehydration, vacuum, sun, microwave, fluidized bed, osmotic dehydration, and extrusion cooking. The book concludes with a section designed to help the reader determine the appropriate method of packaging materials for dehydrated foods. Bringing together essential information on fundamental and applied engineering aspects of food dehydration, this book will prove to be an invaluable resource to all food technologists, chemical engineers working in the food industry and professionals in the drying business. Senior and graduate students in food processing and food science careers will also value this reference guide as an essential part of their studies.