Abstract:
【Objective】 To improve the quality of dried apricot, optimize the drying technology and enhance the market competitiveness of dried apricot products.
【Methods】 Taking the content of sugar-acid ratio and color of dried apricot as evaluation indexes, the optimum drying range of apricot was determined by single factor drying tests under different drying temperatures, air velocities and slitting modes. Box-Behnken center combined test design was carried out,and the response surface optimization analysis was performed to determine the drying process of apricot.
【Results】 With the increase of drying temperature, the sugar-acid ratio in apricot increased gradually, and the color of apricot became worse. With the increase of drying air velocities, the sugar-acid ratio in apricot also increased gradually, but the color of apricot was not different. Compared with whole apricot and de-nuclear apricot, the content of sugar-acid ratio of the apricot treated like this was the highest and the color of apricot was the best.
【Conclusion】 The optimum drying parameters of drying apricot were: drying temperature 50℃, air velocity 4 m/s, cut and stones removed. Under this condition, the average comprehensive score was 95.012 which was close to the result predicted by the model and the optimization result was reliable.