Técnicas para obtenção de coco-da-baía desidratado.

Abstract

The dried fruit industry has been growing worldwide in recent years and has enormous potential to be exploited in Brazil. In order to walk in line with this progress, this research was conducted with the aim to develop techniques for obtaining strips of dried coconut Bahia. We used two different maturation stages (semi-ripe and ripe), pre-treatment in sucrose solutions at three concentrations (25, 35 and 45°Brix) and drying in a tray dryer at three temperatures (50, 60 and 70 °C) data were treated according to the models of Henderson and Pabis; Midilli, Page and Thompson. We calculated the physicochemical characterization of coconut strips before (fresh) and after each process step. The data of physical-chemical analysis were treated according to completely randomized design with three replications for each step of the process of osmotic dehydration and drying. These tests used the program ASSISTAT 7.0, Beta. Texture analysis were made of strips of processed coconut tests for fiber rupture, evaluation of firmness and resistance to traction, in which the equipment was used TAXTplus - Texture Analyser "Stable Micro System. With products made there was the sensory analysis, using a 5-point hedonic scale to evaluate the attributes of appearance, color, aroma and flavor, where tests were applied for acceptance and purchase intent. The data were interpreted by analysis of variance and means were compared by applying the Tukey test. From this research, the main conclusions were: a higher sucrose concentration and drying temperature favors a higher removal of water in osmotic dehydration and drying, respectively, for the same drying temperature, the concentration of sucrose in the solution of osmotic pretreatment did not influence on the drying time of the strips of coconut, Midilli between models, and Page Thompson, the Page model best represents the experimental data of drying, with a correlation coefficient close to 1, the pH of the product produced in all treatments were greater than 4.5 and are considered low acid foods, sugars showed a significant increase after osmotic pre-treatment and after drying, for both maturity stages, mature coconut strips, dehydrated in sucrose solution 45 °Brix and dried at 70 °C was the product of more resolute, whose force required to compress 80% of the sample was up to 472.18 N, so the sample firmer: Strips coconut semi-mature in most treatments, offered higher tensile strength of fibers (penetration), when compared between the same treatments, with strips of ripe coconut; in both stages of maturation the maximum tensile strength were offered by dried at 70 ° C and the lowest strength was for strips pretreated coir in the sucrose solution at 35 ° Brix and dry at 50 ° C. which was 17.25 N. For the two maturation stages of the coconut, the most accepted samples were also those who had the highest percentage for purchase intent, they are: strips of coconut semi-mature and mature pretreated in sucrose solution at 45 ° Brix and dried at 60 and 70 ° C, respectively. And the strips were less accepted semi-mature coconut pretreated in sucrose solution at 25 ° Brix and dried at 50 °C