Drying Characteristics of Potato (Part 1)

Measurement of Basic Drying Characteristics for the Theoretical Interpretation of Frying under Reduced Pressure

Abstract

Frying of agricultural products is one of moisture reducing operations, and the theory of drying is useful for analyzing this process. To give a theoretical interpretation for this process, we need to know the basic drying characteristics of frying materials under different frying temperatures. The objectives of this study is to find out the drying characteristics of potatoes. The results revealed that the drying mechanism of potatoes changed with the moisture. We found out that the modified constant rate drying equation, which includes the shrinkage effect, fits our experimental data in the early stage of drying. We observed that the first- and the second-falling rate periods appeared at the moisture content below about 130% d.b., and the both drying constants have Arrhenius type temperature dependency.