Abstract Guabiroba is a native species of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Its fruits are known for their chemical composition, phenolic compounds and carotenoids, which promote antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. However, it has a high moisture content, which makes it perishable. In this study, three dried products were obtained from fruits after different processing (oven at 60 and 105 °C and freeze-drying), and were characterized according to their chemical composition, drying kinetics and technical–economic analysis. The results showed that guabiroba contains several compounds beneficial to health, with high amounts of dietary fiber (12.60% by weight, wet basis), highlighting its potential as a functional food. The different drying processes resulted in dried products with different physicochemical properties and different drying kinetics. Oven drying at 60 °C was observed as the best drying method, due to the preservation of chemical compounds and the second most economically viable, despite being the slowest process. Compared to conventional frozen guabiroba pulp, dry products are more expensive, although they have lower transportation costs and a longer shelf life, factors not evaluated in this study.
Andrade et al. (Tue,) studied this question.