THE STUDY REGARDING CONVECTIVE DRYING PROCESS FOR BERRIES

Abstract

The paper presents a method of preserving berries by convective drying. During the drying process decresing the water percentage leads concentrating the other components and forming an unfavorable environment for developing the microorganisms. It is created the possibility of increasing shelf life of berries and obtaining food rich in nutrients. Berries alteration is caused by the action of modifiers agents such as biological agents (microorganisms), biochemical agents (endogenous enzymes) and physical and chemical agents (air, light, or chemicals with antiseptic or antioxidant role. The kinetics of carrying the convective drying process and the thermal influence on the drying process kinetics are shown in the paper. In order to choose an economical drying regime, optimizing the berries drying regime will require finding a minimum drying duration with a minimum consumption of heat.