Abstract

Carrot is dried for consumption in the form of slices and cubes. The objective of this work was to find alternative ways for the conservation of carrot slices by osmotic dehydration with additional drying in heat. Pre-osmotic dehydration (temperature, immersion time and type of osmotic solution) based on the results of humidity loss, solid gain, weight reduction and efficiency ratio of pre-dehydrated carrot slices were initially defined as the best conditions for this study. The osmotic solutions used were composed of NaCl (10%) and sucrose (50° Brix) named OD1 and sucrose (50° Brix) called OD2. The experiment of pre-osmotic dehydration of carrot slices in two temperature levels with complementary drying in heat with air circulation at 70°C was used. The best results were obtained with the solution OD1 at 60°C with immersion time of 60 min. The osmotic pre-treatment reduced the initial humidity of carrot slices, reducing the time for the product to reach the same humidity content.

Key words: Carrot, conservation, osmotic solution, pre-osmotic dehydration.