A Comparative Study on the Effect of Chemical, Microwave, and Pulsed Electric Pretreatments on Convective Drying and Quality of Raisins

Abstract

In order to discourage the use of chemicals in raisin processing, the effect of microwave and pulsed electric field (PEF) pretreatments on the drying rate and other quality parameters like color, total soluble solids, bulk density, appearance, and market quality were compared with that of chemically pretreated raisins dried at 65°C. The untreated and pretreated samples had a statistically significant difference in drying rate (P < 0.05). The drying rate of chemically pretreated raisins was the highest when compared to others. The results showed that the PEF and microwave-treated samples had a significantly high Total Soluble Solids (TSS), along with good appearance and market quality.