Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Division of Forestry and Natural Resources

Committee Chair

Benjamin Dawson-Andoh

Committee Member

Gregory Dahle

Committee Member

Kaushlendra Singh Tingi

Abstract

Refined Liquid Smoke (RLS) (1%) was incorporated during osmotic dehydration of apple cubes (10 mm each side) to observe its effect on solid gain, water loss, yield, water activity, product quality, and consumer preference. Three different treatments, POD (pure osmotic dehydration, no RLS), LSISS (RLS inside sugar solution) and PTLS (pre-treatment with RLS), were compared in this study. Osmotic dehydration was carried out using 42 °Brix sugar solution, and the fruit to solution ratio was kept at 1:4. The osmotically dehydrated apples were evaluated for soluble solid content (SSC), water loss, and solid gained. After osmotic dehydration, apple cubes were air dried at 74 °C for 8 - 10 hours to achieve a water activity of 0.3. The final dried apple product was evaluated for moisture content, yield, water activity, color, and sensory characteristics. Statistical analysis showed that the use of RLS significantly influenced moisture content, total solid gained, water activity, and yield. Osmotic dehydrated apples produced with POD treatment had the highest moisture content (71.64%) followed by those produced with PTLS (69.76%) and LSISS (68.85%) treatments. The highest SSC was observed in apples produced with PTLS (31.40 °Brix) treatment suggesting a higher influx of sugar during osmotic dehydration process, and as a result highest yield was also recorded for the PTLS treatment (23.48%).

In addition, a consumer acceptability test (n=15) of final dried apple snack was performed. The panelists were untrained undergraduate and graduate students (21-35 years old). Panelists rated all the samples for appearance, color, flavor, texture, taste and overall acceptance. Results showed that the overall acceptance for POD and PTLS treated apples was significantly higher than LSISS treated apples (p<0.02).

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