The aim of this study was to evaluate the drying kinetics and quality parameters - vitamin C content, rehydration and texture - of freeze dried pineapple slices, according to the thickness and temperature of freezing. Pineapples of the Hawaii type, Smooth Cayenne variety, were sliced transversely with thicknesses of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 cm. The slices were frozen at temperatures of -14, -24 and -34 °C, and then freeze dried. One part of the samples was used to study the drying kinetics by periodic weighing, while the other was reserved for the quality tests. The vitamin C content was quantified by adding oxalic acid to the sample and titrating with 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol. The texture parameter evaluated was that of hardness, evaluated by compression tests in a texturometer, while rehydration was determined by weighing the samples before and after immersion in water for 5 min. The results of this study showed there was a strong dependence of the drying kinetics and quality attributes of the dried pineapple slices on the conditions used during the freezing step, even though this was classified as slow freezing. Nevertheless the freezing rate was not the only variable that influenced the drying kinetics and quality attributes. The combination of temperature and humidity, both during the freeze drying process itself, and also during the rehydration step, influences the glass transition of the material which, in turn, affects the extent of structural collapse suffered by the product.
Pineapples; Freeze drying; Kinetics; Quality
