Food Science

Moisture Content: Dehydrating fruit

January 14th-15th, 2016
Bee1 Pichayathida Siriwechdaruk
Folk Sasis Panthong
Kimmy Kimmy Pathanasap
Max Peeravit Punchunuwat

10-04

Moisture Content:
Dehydrated fruits
Introduction
Water is a component of many
things within the
world. Food also contains water.
There are a total
of three types of water within food;
free or bulk
water, trapped or capillary water, and
bound water.
Free or bulk water can easily be removed from the food since the water molecule is
surrounded by the other water molecule. Trapped or capillary water is a little bit
harder to remove than the free water. The water is trapped in physical barrier, or a
small tube which prevent the water from escaping. Bound water is the hardest to
remove. The water molecule is bonded to other substance or another water
molecule, which make it hard to be removed.
The moisture content or the amount of water in a material can be calculated
using a formula. The formula is to get the mass of water and to divide it by the
initial mass of the wet sample and multiply it by 100.
Moisture content (%) = m(H2O) x 100
m(initial)
or
Moisture content (%) = m(wet) - m(dry) . x 100
m(wet)
This lab experiment will prove that water contains food. Itll show the difference
between food that contains water and food that doesnt.
Itll help with understanding the moisture content formula better, by acting as a
practice. Also, doing the experiment is a fun and easy to understand way to learn.

Moisture Content:
Dehydrated fruits
Materials
1) Cutting board
8) dishwashing soap
2) Chinese pear
9) Sponge
3) Wax paper
4) Tissue
5) Dehydrator
6) Knife
7) Electronic balance
Procedure
1. Obtain the fruit sample.
2. Cut the Chinese pear into thin and equal pieces, at least one piece per group
member.
3. Cut the wax paper to fit the size of the fruit sample.
4. Place the fruit sample onto the wax paper. Use the electronic balance to find:
4.1)Mass of paper
4.2)Mass of fruit
4.3)Mass of paper with fruit
5. Record the mass into the data table.
6. Observe the fruit sample. (ex: size, thickness, smell, texture)
7. Put the fruit sample into the dehydrator, making sure that the fruit samples are
spaced apart.
8. Leave the fruit sample in the dehydrator for 24 hours.
9. Obtain the dried fruit sample from the dehydrator.
10. Mass the sample, both with and without paper. Record the mass into the table.
11. Observe the dehydrated fruit sample. Compare the characteristic to the original
sample.
12. Calculate the moisture content by using the moisture content formula.
13. Find the average moisture content percentage of the fruit and compare it to the
others fruits.

Moisture Content:
Dehydrated fruits

Data
Data table: Mass used in
moisture content

calculating and

Name of the
Group Member

Mass of sample
before
dehydration (g)

Mass of sample
Moisture Content
after dehydration (%)
(g)

Bee1

22.90

3.82

83.32

Folk

22.53

3.44

84.73

Kimmy

28.84

4.82

83.28

Max

23.36

3.75

83.23

Average Moisture Content = 83.64%

Moisture Content:
Dehydrated fruits

Analyzing results questions

1 Why did the weight of the sample
decrease?
Explain
Ans: Because water has weight and
the water in
sample is lost when its dehydrated. Food dehydration is the process of removing
water from food. Food with large percentage of water will lost more weight than
food with smaller percentage of water.
2 Each group member should comment on the changes they observed from the wet
to dry sample.
Ans: Folks comments are Its smell like crispy banana. The mass is lighter than
before and the shape is smaller. Its taste like a pumpkin
Maxs comments are The Chinese pear look so great but the sugar when it wet is
more sweet than the one that dry
Kimmys comments are Fruit sample after dehydrated is smaller. Its edges are
curvy which is different from before dehydrated that is round. The color become
darker and its texture change from moist to almost dry.
Bee1s comments are The size of the fruit sample is smaller when dehydrated than
before. The taste of the dehydrated fruit sample is sweeter. The color of the flesh
turned a little bit brown and yellow-ish. Also, the dehydrated fruit sample is harder
than the original sample.
3 Do you think your sample needed more time to dry? Why or why not?
Ans: Yes. When we received our sample, they are almost dry but not completely.
Some sections of the Chinese pear are still moist so I think our samples needed
more time to dry for a few hours.

Moisture Content:
Dehydrated fruits
4 How did the average moisture
content of the
other fruit samples compare to your
group?
Ans: The average moisture content
of other fruit
samples are 70.87% (Avocado),
81.99% (Dragon
fruit), 83.47% (Kiwi), 81.30%
(Mango),
71.64% (Banana). My groups fruit samples are Chinese pear with the average
moisture content of 83.64% which has the largest percentage compared to other
groups in my class.
5 Why did some samples dehydrate more efficiently than others? (For within your
group and also between different groups)
Ans: Because some fruit samples have more water than others. Chinese pear has
the most amount of water in them compare to avocado, dragon fruit, kiwi, mango
and banana. Avocado has the least amount of water. Also, the texture and size of
the sample does matter. In some texture, itll be easier to dehydrate than other.
Small and thin sample are dehydrated more efficiently than the big and thick ones.
6 Research advantages and disadvantages to dehydrated food products and
explain. Include APA citations.
Ans: Advantages of dehydrated food products are making the food last longer so
they dont have to use preservatives and chemical additives making them safer,
prevent bacteria growth. They shrink so they weigh less which reduces
transportation costs and it increased amount of product per container. They are
great emergency food and also create new flavor. Even Though there are so many
good things about dehydrated food products, there are also many bad things too.
Some disadvantages of dehydrated food products are they are high in calories,
sugar and sodium. They lose some nutrients. They sometimes dont taste fresh and
dehydrated food products in supermarkets are more expensive than normal food

Moisture Content:
Dehydrated fruits

Conclusion
The result of this lab turns out
well. We can
clearly observe the changes in the
sample after we
dehydrate it and most of the
members
moisture content are precise. In this lab, we learned the process in making
dehydrated fruit and how to use the moisture content formula. Also, we learned
how to make good observations during the lab too. The error in this experiment is
some of the parts of the sample is not completely dehydrated. The smell of the
dehydrated sample might have been affected by other kind of fruit in the
dehydrator too, since the dehydrated sample have the smell that is banana-like. To
improve this lab experiment to be better and more accurate, more time is needed to
dry the sample completely. Also, we may separate the sample from other kinds of
fruit in order to prevent any changes in smell.

Bibliography
Mary, B.(n.d.). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from
http://www.drystore.com/FoodDehydrationFAQ.html
Allison, Sammi,Gill. (n.d.). Advantages and disadvantages. Retrieved from
https://sites.google.com/a/monroeps.net/dehydrationsag/advantages-disadvantages
Riverwalker. (2008, December 20). Types of food storage-Dehydrated Foods.
Retrieved from http://stealthsurvival.blogspot.com/2008/12/types-of-food-storagedehydrated-foods.html
Tonya, Y.(n.d.). The Disadvantages of Dehydrated Foods. Retrieved from
http://www.ehow.com/list_6855228_disadvantages-dehydrated-foods.html

Moisture Content:
Dehydrated fruits
Work log
Name

Section of work

If they didnt, who

did it
Did they do their job?

Bee1

Introduction, data

Yes

Folk

Discussion question

Yes

Kimmy

Discussion question

Yes

Max

Conclusion, material,
prodcedure

Yes