New Process for Texturizing Partially Dehydrated Biological Products Using Controlled Sudden Decompression to the Vacuum: Application on Potatoes

A new texturizing process, Controlled Sudden Decompression (Détente Instantanée Contrôlée “DIC®“), has been developed to improve the quality of hot‐air dried food. The process involves a treatment under high pressure of steam followed by an extremely rapid decompression to the vacuum. Coupled with a drying step, this process provides high‐quality finished products for a similar overall cost to hot‐air drying alone. The definition, design, and achievement of the appropriate equipment have already been dealt with. In this study, 2 parameters directly related to DIC expansion were examined: initial pressure (before decompression) in the vacuum tank and the decompression duration. Impact of structural modifications on the rate of dehydration was also quantified.