Osmotic Dehydration of Yacon Potatoes ( Smallanthus sonchifolius ) using Different Sweeteners as Osmotic Agents

This study aimed to evaluate the osmotic dehydration and model adjustment of yacon potatoes (Smallanthus sonchifolius) using the sweeteners sorbitol, xylitol, and maltitol (at concentrations of 32, 46, and 60 g/100 mL). No significant difference was observed in the weight loss of the potatoes for all sweetener concentrations used. The samples dehydrated with 32 g/100 mL sweetener showed lower moisture loss (ML). All sweeteners at 46 and 60 g/mL concentrations showed higher solids gain (SG), with no differences among the samples. The Deff after 120 min of osmotic dehydration was 2.95 × 10−9 m2/s using xylitol at 60 g/100 mL. Model adjustment showed that the logarithmic model best fitted the thin-layer drying behavior of yacon potato slices for all sweeteners and concentrations used (R2 >0.96 for all models), except for maltitol at 46 g/100 mL, which better fit the Henderson and Pabis model.