Osmotic Concentration – Drying of Mango Slices

The effect of initial water activity (aw) of mango slices obtained by osmotic concentration pre-treatments with sucrose syrups on their air-drying behavior at 50, 60 and 70°C were evaluated calculating the apparent diffusion coefficients with second Fick's law. The increase in sucrose concentration or reduction in ew of mango slices affects the moisture transport during the air drying step. The diffusion coefficients decrease with the increasing in solid content during the osmosis and increase with the drying temperature. The time needed to reach a final moisture content of 0.7 g water/g ds was 50 to 75% lower in osmosed mangoes than those obtained for fresh mango.