Effect of Different Dehydration Methods on Organoleptic Attributes of Osmotic Dehydrated Pineapple Slices

Drying and dehydration are the very ancient fruit and vegetable preservation methods used in India. In the recent years osmotic dehydration has been gaining popularity due to its effectiveness in enhancing the product quality and consumer acceptability. The present study made an attempt to assess the effect of different dehydration methods on organoleptic attributes of osmotic dehydrated pineapple slices. After soaking the 1 cm thickness pineapple slices in the 60 °Brix sugar syrup for 24 hours the slices were dried by following 3 treatments namely electric dehydration, Solar dehydration and Sun drying. Then Hedonic rating scale was administered to 20 panelists to assess the sensory attributes of dehydrated pineapple slices of three samples. The results indicated that electrical dehydrated pineapple slices scored high in all six sensory attributes i.e. 1. Colour, 2. Appearance, 3. Appearance, 4. Flavour, 5. Texture and 6. Overall acceptability when compared to solar dehydrated and sun dried pineapple slices.