Abstract
ABSTRACT The aim of the present work was to understand the effect of drying conditions (microwave output powers and sample amounts) and rehydration temperature on rehydration kinetics of microwave-dried basil. Four different models, Peleg's, Weibull, first-order and exponential association were applied to experimental data, and the corresponding parameters of the models were obtained. Also, the kinetic parameters of the models were correlated with the ratio of microwave output power to sample amount and temperature. Although all the models applied provided a good agreement with the experimental data, the Weibull model was observed as the most appropriate one for all the experimental data, with high coefficient of determination of R2 value. By using the kinetic parameters of this model, the activation energy for rehydration kinetic was estimated as 6.79 kJ/mol. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Drying is the one of the storage methods that has the capability of extending the consumption period of the sample. Drying not only affects the water content of the product, but also alters other physical, biological and chemical properties. The purpose of drying food products is to allow longer periods of storage with minimized packaging requirements, reduce shipping weights, and preserve seasonal plants and make them available to consumers during the whole year. Rehydration is a complex process aimed at the restoration of raw-material properties when dried material comes in contact with water and can be considered as a measure of the injury to the material caused by drying. The objective of rehydration studies is to obtain products that gained as much original textural characteristics – and as fast – as possible.