Value Addition of Fruits and Vegetables Through Drying and Dehydration

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables are highly perishable in nature; postharvest losses vary from 40 to 50 % in developed countries like India, which badly affects the availability of fruits and vegetables to the consumers. Drying and dehydration are the methods to preserve the perishable raw commodity against deterioration and to reduce the cost of packaging, handling, storing and transporting the material by converting it into a dry solid, thus reducing its weight and also, usually but not necessarily, its volume. Advances in vegetable and fruit drying and dehydration techniques are helpful in the development of novel value-added products which meet the quality standard, stability and functional requirement coupled with the economy of the country. Dried and dehydrated fruits and vegetables can be successfully used for different food preparations and for the preparation of instant soups, baking, dairy and confectionery products. In this chapter, different aspects of drying and dehydration of fruits and vegetables like predrying treatments, drying methodology and postdrying treatments have been discussed.