Osmo-air drying of banana slices: multivariate analysis, process optimization and product quality characterization.

In the present work, osmotic dehydration (OD) was applied as a pretreatment to hot air drying of banana slices and the effect of OD parameters on mass transfer characteristics, color profile was analysed. Principal component analysis (PCA) of OD process revealed that solid gain, weight reduction, water loss and total soluble solids were positively correlated with each other but were found to be negatively correlated with moisture content (MC) of sample. Response surface methodology was used for optimizing the OD of banana slices and and the optimum conditions were 61.26°Brix sucrose concentration at 50 °C for 6 h, resulting in moisture reduction from 75 to 49.78%. PCA-biplot of osmo-air drying (OAD) process showed the association among response parameters, which further revealed a positive correlation of MC with bioactive components. Additionally, OAD samples were also studied for microstructure and Fourier Transform Infra-red analysis. Addition of calcium lactate to sucrose solution resulted in preserving the firmness and bioactive components during osmosis, in addition to fortifying the sample with calcium. The present study provides new possibilities for food industries in preserving the ripe banana and developing calcium fortified functional food products. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2021.