Drying and dehydration: an emerging postharvest preservation method of fruits

Drying of fruits is one the earliest and effective method of food preservation which play significant role in fruit supply chain. The dried and dehydrated fruit products are good source of energy as well as concentrated source of vitamin and minerals. Higher shelf life, easy handling, lower volume, smooth transportation and cost effective storage are few advantages of dried/ dehydrated fruit product. Lowering of moisture content which ultimately lowers down microbial spoilage is core principle of drying and? dehydration. While opting drying and dehydration one must know the factor which affects its efficiency, these include factors such as type of product, cost of dehydration, quality of final product and source of energy. Drying and dehydration technologies can be one of the possible approach to meet the nutritional security as more than 20% of the world perishable crops are dried to increase the shelf life and product availability. The matters considered in the paper are:Objective of drying and dehydrationDrying methods and their advantages and disadvantages Traditional methodsSun dryingDirect solar dryersCommercial methodsOsmotic dryingFreeze dryingVacuum dryingSpray dryingMicrowave drying Latest methodsUltrasoundInfrared dryingLow pressure superheated steam dryingConclusion ConclusionFuthure thrust ? SourcesDrying and dehydration: an emerging postharvest preservation method of fruitsJoy Rudra PaulAgri-India Today, 2021 Vol. 1, Issue 1: 71-74 CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE 1ST ISSUE!!1st. picture, Agen prune by Alyser Market