Mass transfer rate and osmotic treatment efficiency of peaches

Abstract

The highest-quality peaches [Prunus persica (L .) Batsch] are cultivatedin areas with sunny summers, therefore the territory of the AutonomousProvince of Vojvodina is a favourable region for their production . Peaches areusually consumed fresh, canned, or dried and represent a great source of theessential nutrients . Osmotic dehydration is a well-known preservation methodthat relies on mild temperatures and requires low energy . Research conductedat the Faculty of Technology Novi Sad has introduced sugar beet molasses asan efficient osmotic solution for drying various food samples. In this research,peach samples were osmotically treated in sugar beet molasses, and the goal wasto investigate the impact of different solution concentrations, temperatures, andimmersion time on the mass transfer rate and the efficiency of treatment. Theresults have shown that the mass transfer rate during the osmotic treatment ofpeach samples in sugar beet molasses was the most intensive at the beginning ofthe process, at the highest solution concertation, and at the highest temperature .In accordance with the results, diffusion occurred most rapidly during the firstthree hours of the process; therefore, processing time can be reduced