Effect of osmotic dehydration on the physical and chemical properties of Mexican ginger (Zingiber officinalevar. Grand Cayman)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of osmotic dehydration of ginger on the properties of color, total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (AC). Fresh samples were pretreated with scalding (100°C/1.0 minute). Water loss (WL) and solid gain (SG) kinetics were performed using three sucrose concentrations: 35%, 50% and 65% at three temperatures: 40°C, 55°C and 70°C. WL and SG simulated kinetics by Diffusion model for cubes averaged a R2 of 0.95. The diffusivities for water and solid by Fick’s Law obtained maximum values of 6.81 × 10−7 and 2.65 × 10−7 m2/s, respectively. WL results were obtained up to 60.83% and SG 32.24%. Ginger treatments without blanching (GWB) at 40°C with 35% and 50% sucrose, respectively, showed a similar fresh ginger color. The GWB treatments showed the higher TPC using 50% sucrose at 40°C (753 μg GAE/mL) and AC (341.96 mg AAE/mL).