Mass transfer kinetics during osmotic dehydration of beetroot tutti-frutti

Beetroot osmotic dehydraton

Abstract

Beetroot and beet juice have been known for their antioxidant, anticancer and anti-diabetic
effects as well as being a source of dietary nutrients that reduce blood pressure and may
improve athletic performance. Now-a-days, there is an increased interest in fruits and
vegetables processing by products due to their nutritive value. The experiment consisted of
various combination of sugar syrup temperature (40, 50 and 60°C), concentration (50, 60 and
70°Brix) and duration of osmosis (60,120 and 180 min) for preparation of beetroot tutti-frutti.
The results indicated that the quality observations affected by various treatments. As the
temperature and concentration of the solution were increased the water loss and sugar gain
was also increased with increase in time. The optimized process parameters for osmotic
dehydration of beetroot cubes were found to be at 62 o Brix syrup concentration, 50 o C syrup temperature and 105 min duration of osmosis. The predicted water loss (maximum) and sugar gain (targeted) was 36.12 and 9.80 per cent, respectively at optimized input parameters on the basis of sensory evaluation, texture and overall acceptability.