| Late harvested or second-class watermelons are often wasted or left in the field. A food preservation process yielding an acceptable product is needed to capitalize on this otherwise wasted commodity. Watermelons were dried to produce a shelf-stable watermelon product made from osmotic dehydration. Peeled watermelon flesh (3 x 3 x 3 cm cubes) was pre-treated with additives (sugar, CaCl2, and aluminum powder) followed by either forced-air or vacuum drying. Three studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of additives and drying systems. In the first study, raw watermelon cubes were soaked in either 50° or 10° Brix sugar solutions for 2 hrs followed by forced-air drying at 60°C. In the second study, CaCl2 and aluminum powder additives were applied prior to the 50° Brix osmotic pretreatment to improve the quality of the watermelon samples. In the third study, watermelon samples were pre-treated with both additives and the 50° Brix sugar solution prior to either forced-air or vacuum drying. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
