NASCIMENTO, A. P. S.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/1239963140030276; NASCIMENTO, Amanda Priscila Silva.
Resumo:
Brazil is one of the largest fruit producers in the world. One of the main crops is the
cashew nut, which represents a large part of Brazilian agribusiness, especially in the
Northeast region. The chestnut produced has a great acceptance, especially in what
concerns the international market, however, it suffers technological limitations in its
processing, affecting the quality standards which harms its industrial income, consequently
the final price. Among the attributes required for export, the most affected by processing
problems are the integrity and color resulting from the roasting process. The improvement
of these parameters basically depends on two stages of the processing which are the deroasting
and the roasting. The removal of the film is largely responsible for the high
cracking rates of the almond and the roast exerts a direct influence on the color of the
product. For these reasons, it is necessary to invest in research aimed at reducing the
damage caused by almonds during processing. In view of the above, this study aimed to
evaluate the drying kinetics of thin-walled cashew nuts by two different drying methods,
using the conventional 1.5 m s-1 air circulation dryer at temperatures of 60, 70, 80 and 90 °
C and apply the technique known as "air fryer", which uses a drying rate of 6 m s -1 at
temperatures of 80, 120, 160 and 200 ° C, to evaluate the influence parameters in the final
quality of the almonds. It was verified that both methods presented positive parameters in
relation to the final quality of the products, and among the mathematical models used in
the drying kinetics in conventional dryer the Page was the one that was best adapted to the
experimental data, in relation to the drying with the "Air fryer" Wang's model presented
the best adjustments. The colors of the almonds, resulting from drying at all temperatures,
were commercially acceptable and the breaking rate was lower than that observed in
industry.