Drying of Okra by Different Drying Methods: Comparison of Drying time, Product Color Quality, Energy Consumption and Rehydration

Abstract

In this study, okra was dried and modelled with using five different drying methods exist in literature. In the methods of vacuum and hot air drying, the drying temperature of 50°C was selected, while the powers of microwave and infrared were set as 90 W and 83 W, respectively. The results were evaluated in terms of drying time, product color quality, energy consumption and rehydration. The minimum drying time was obtained by microwave drying method. Also, the energy efficiency increased with the microwave drying method. In terms of color criteria the best value was obtained by the hot-air drying method. Rehydration content of dried okra samples with hot air was higher than that of other drying methods. From the results of this study, the most efficient drying methods were determined as microwave and hot-air drying.