Abstract
Hot air drying is a conventional method for producing dried fruit ; however, hardening and browning of the fruit pulp surface often occur during processing. The objective of this study was to produce a high quality semi-dried Japanese pear fruit using a simple method based on hot air drying. We found that microwave irradiation of Japanese pear pulp followed by hot air drying produced semi-dried fruit with uniform softness and a vivid yellow-orange color. Microwave pretreatment shortened the hot air drying period by one-third. For optimized processing, the time required for microwave irradiation of Japanese pear pulp was proportional to pulp weight and inversely proportional to irradiation power. Based on overall sensory evaluation by consumers, including separate evaluations of appearance, taste, and texture, the semi-dried fruit obtained in this study was shown to be preferable to fruit without pretreatment. Therefore, we conclude that our novel semi-dried Japanese pear fruit is a promising food item due to its color and texture. Furthermore, the simple production process we developed in this study can be easily adopted by the food industry.
