Foam Mat Drying Characteristics of Fruits: A Review

Fruits have gained commercial importance and their growth on a commercial scale has become an important sector of the agricultural industry. Recent developments in agricultural technology have substantially increased the world production of fruits. Consequently a larger proportion of fruits are handled, transported, and marketed all over the world calling for suitable postharvest techniques for storage and processing to ensure improved shelf life. Production and consumption of processed fruits are also increasing. Food processing or preservation is to convert perishable foods such as fruits into stabilized products that can be stored for extended periods of time to reduce their postharvest losses. Foam mat drying is a promising development in the field of drying aqueous foods. This method offers a wide scope for application in vegetable puree and fruit juice processing industry as it enables the dehydration of heat sensitive foods or which are difficult-to-dry, sticky, and viscous under relatively mild conditions without undue quality change. The foam-mat drying is a process in which the transformation of products from liquid to stable foam follows air drying at relatively low temperatures to form a thin porous honey-comb sheet or mat which is disintegrated to yield a free-flowing powder.