Food Research International 38 (2005) 533–542

www.elsevier.com/locate/foodres

Structure–property relationships in osmo-air-dehydrated

apricot cubes
Marco Riva a,*, Stefano Campolongo a, Alexa Avitabile Leva b,
Andrea Maestrelli b, Danila Torreggiani b
a
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Alimentari e Microbiologiche (DISTAM), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Italy
b
Istituto Sperimentale per la Valorizzazione Tecnologica dei Prodotti Agricoli (I.V.T.P.A.), Via Venezian, 26, 20133 Milano, Italy

Received 3 November 2003; accepted 27 October 2004

Abstract

Osmotic dehydration has been proposed in combination with air dehydration to improve quality attributes of air dried fruit
pieces. The influence of the osmotic step and of the syrup composition on the chemical–physical properties, structure collapse
and colour changes of osmo-air-dehydrated apricot cubes was studied. The relationship between shrinkage during air dehydration
and ÔglassÕ–ÔrubberÕ transitions of apricot tissue was also analysed. Colour attributes and geometric features were evaluated by image
analysis and mathematical transformations were applied to the image parameters to estimate volume reduction related to absolute
moisture content. Sugars added during the osmotic step help to slightly decrease shrinkage during the first phase of the subsequent
air dehydration, furthermore the osmo-dehydrated apricot cubes showed the lowest structure collapse, retaining a better superficial
appearance. The incorporation of sugars improved the colour stability during air dehydration, with sorbitol showing the highest
protective effect.
Ó 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Air dehydration; Apricot; Image analysis; Osmotic dehydration; Shrinkage

1. Introduction This phenomenon affects the rate of drying as well as

Recently new interest has arisen in the field of dehy-
drated fruit products, used mainly as ingredients, be-
cause of their technical and economical advantages,
such as suitability for automatized mixing with other
ingredients, and weight and volume reduction with con-
sequent lowering of storage and transport cost. A wide
range of water and soluble solids contents in the final
product could be achieved in order to prepare fruit
ingredients with functional properties suitable for spe-
cific food systems. However air drying of vegetable tis-
sues is characterized by extensive shrinkage and
microstructural changes (Aguilera & Stanley, 1999).
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 2 50316636; fax: +39 2 50316632.
E-mail address: marco.riva@unimi.it (M. Riva).
physical and functional properties of the dehydrated
products.
Maximal shrinkage during drying of a fruit material
decreases as its solids increase (Lozano, Rostein, &
Urbicain, 1983) and structural collapse was shown to
decrease when fruit was impregnated with sugars prior
to air drying (del Valle, Cuadros, & Aguilera, 1998; Nie-
to, Salvatori, Castro, & Alzamora, 1998; Reppa, Man-
dala, Kostaropoulos, & Saravacos, 1999; Riva,
Cortellino, Maestrelli, & Torreggiani, 2001; Witrow-
Rajchert, Lewicki, & Lenart, 1995). Partial dehydration
and solute intake can be achieved by immersion in con-
centrated aqueous solutions, the so called osmotic dehy-
dration process (Lazarides, Fito, Chiralt, Gekas, &
Lenart, 1999; Raoult-Wack, 1994). By modifying the ex-
tent of the partial dehydration and syrup composition

0963-9969/$ - see front matter Ó 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2004.10.018
534 M. Riva et al. / Food Research International 38 (2005) 533–542
not only can the end product be diversified but chemical,
physical and functional properties can be improved
(Torreggiani & Bertolo, 2001).
The rate of several collapse phenomena, such as
recrystallization of freeze–dried sugars or structural col-
lapse, has been shown to be governed by the glass tran-
sition temperature (Tg); physical changes are related to
viscosity, which, in amorphous materials, such as dried
fruit, decreases with increasing T
Tg following the
WLF-type temperature dependence (Levi & Karel,
1995; Roos & Karel, 1992; Slade & Levine, 1991). How-
ever, the physical state of dehydrated food materials has
been suggested as one of the rate-defining factors of dif-
fusion-controlled deteriorative changes, such as non-
enzymatic browning in low and intermediate moisture
foods (Karmas, Buera, & Karel, 1992).
Apricots are often used as food ingredients, however
they are very susceptible to enzymatic browning during
air dehydration, due to phenolase activity, which has
been shown to decrease rapidly with an increase in sol-
uble solids content (McBean, Joslyn, & Nury, 1971;
Ponting, Watters, Forrey, Jackson, & Stanley, 1966).
A ‘‘combined’’ process, consisting of osmotic dehydra-
tion, followed by air dehydration, and then freezing
has been proposed to obtain intermediate moisture apri-
cot ingredients, without sulphur dioxide, having a natu-
ral colour, which could be suitable for different
applications (Forni, Sormani, Scalise, & Torreggiani,
1997).
Image analysis could be a means of quantifying mor-
phometric and densitometric features (appearance, sur-
face texture, colour attributes) of images (Russ,
Stewart, & Russ, 1988), providing useful parameters
when a product undergoes, during processing, a modifi-
cation of its geometry and appearance, such as for fruit
shrinkage during air dehydration (Riva et al., 2001). If
compared to the common measurements of geometric
features such as volume displacement methods, image
analysis techniques allow a more accurate definition of
volume, surface and/or thickness of a food piece, and
also give useful information about its appearance
(colour).
Among the simplest applications of the image analy-
sis systems are the feature-specific measurements (size,
e.g. area, length, width, perimeter, volume and surface
area; shape, e.g. form factor, aspect ratio, fractal dimen-
sion, number of holes) and the global measurements
(area fraction, length or curvature of lines, and orienta-
tion parameters) (Serra, 1982). In addition, each object
position and information from the grey (brightness, con-
trast) or colour image (R, G, B values) can be evaluated.
By using threshold algorithms (applied after binary
transformation of raw image) it is possible to single
out a specific feature of an image and measure it. The
combination of new technologies, new software ap-
proaches and expansion of analytical techniques to in-
clude more automated stereology, enable the scientist
to define macro- and microstructure and determine its
effect on function (Kalab, Allan-Wojtas, & Miller,
1995).
The non-homogeneity of visual appearance of fruit
pieces constitutes an obstacle to application of the clas-
sical approach to colour measurement, based on reflec-
tance instruments. On the contrary, image analysis is
an effective methodology, able to measure average chro-
matic parameters of also non-homogenous surfaces. By
simple programs of photo-enhancement it is possible to
measure the colour of digitalised images, expressing re-
sults in the usual chromatic coordinates L, a, b. By stan-
dardization of working parameters (conditions of
lighting system, use of a black background in view to
isolate the subject, insertion of a pre-printed chromatic
scale in the scene of acquisition of the image), it is also
possible to compare realistically the colour of images ac-
quired at various times (Papadakis, Abdul-Malek, Kam-
dem, & Yam, 2000).
The objective of this work was to study the relation-
ship between shrinkage and colour stability during
omodehydration and air dehydration, and chemical
characteristics of apricot cubes. For this reason different
sugar solutions were used during the osmotic pre-treat-
ment to determine variations in the original composition.
The relationship between shrinkage and ÔglassÕ–ÔrubberÕ
transitions of apricot tissue was also analysed.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Raw material
Apricots, cultivar Tonda di Costigliole, picked at the
fresh market maturity (dry matter: 14.42%, refractive in-
dex (°Bx): 13.20, total titratable acidity: 22.23 mEq/100
g), were mechanically cut into 14 mm cubes and
processed.
2.2. Processing: osmotic dehydration
Osmotic dehydration was performed for 30 and 60
min at 25 °C in a glass tank filled with 60% (w/w) su-
crose (SU) or sorbitol (SO) syrup, supplemented with
ascorbic acid (1%) and NaCl (0.5%) as antioxidants
(Pizzocaro, Torreggiani, & Gilardi, 1993). A sucrose
solution isotonic with the apricot (13% sucrose) (ISO),
containing the antioxidant mixture, was used as control,
in order to obtain cubes with the same antioxidant in-
take but without sugar enrichment. The cubes were held
submerged by a plastic screen, syrup was continuously
recirculated through a peristaltic pump and the fruit-
syrup ratio was 1/3 (w/w). Sucrose was used to increase
the glass transition temperature and sorbitol for its pro-
tective effect on colour (Torreggiani, Forni, Erba, &
 M. Riva et al. / Food Research International 38 (2005) 533–542
Longoni, 1995a), even though it causes a decrease of the
Tg values.
Solid gain (SG), water loss (WL), and changes of sug-
ars, ascorbic acid and total titratable acidity, during os-
motic dehydration, were calculated, with respect to 100
g of initial fresh fruit, according to Giangiacomo, Torr-
eggiani, and Abbo (1987).
2.3. Processing: air-dehydration
Air-dehydration was performed using an alternate
upward–downward air-circulated cabinet drier, set up
at I.V.T.P.A., operating at an air velocity of 1.5 m/s.
Cubes, pre-treated or not, were dehydrated at 70 °C
(dry bulb) to a programmed (for practical purpose)
30%, 50%, 70% and 80% weight loss (Bertolo et al.,
2001). Each trial was repeated twice.
The drier was equipped with three trays, one of which
was employed for measuring weight loss. This latter tray
was connected with a computer-driven balance measur-
ing, at 10 min intervals, the weight loss of apricot cubes
during air-dehydration. Weight loss kinetics (weight
loss-vs-drying time) were then referred to initial absolute
moisture content of fruit and expressed as drying rate.
2.4. Analytical methods
Chemical and physical analyses were carried out on
raw, osmodehydrated, osmo-air and air dehydrated
apricot cubes. Results are the means of four
determinations.
Dry matter (DM) and total titratable acidity were
determined according to the Official Methods of Analy-
sis (AOAC, 1985), and refractive index (°Bx) using a
refractometer CRFM81 (BS, Tunbridge Wells, Kent,
UK). Sugars were quantified on aqueous extract by
HPLC according to Forni, Erba, Maestrelli, and Pole-
sello (1992). Water content of dried product is expressed
as Absolute Moisture (kg H2O/kg DM).
Water activity (aw), as Equilibrium Vapour Pressure/
100, was measured using a AQUA LAB CX2 (Decagon
Devices Inc., Pulman, Washington, USA).
Ascorbic acid was determined on 6% metaphosphoric
acid extract by HPLC according to Rizzolo, Brambilla,
Valsecchi, and Eccher-Zerbini (2002).
Glass transition temperatures were determined by
differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) using a Per-
kin–Elmer DSC 6 calorimeter (Norwalk, Connecticut,
USA). The instrument was calibrated by standard pro-
cedures. Samples (6–9 mg) were placed in aluminum
DSC pans (Perkin Elmer, 20 ll) and hermetically sealed;
an empty aluminum pan was used as reference. Helium
at a rate of 15 ml/min was used to flush continuously the
measuring cell to prevent water condensation. Samples
were heated at a rate of 10 °C/min and scanned from

80 to 30 °C. The glass transition (onset) of the unfro-
535
zen phase (Tg) and the peak temperature (end point) of
the exothermal transition [T 0g , according to Slade and
Levine (1991)] were determined. All measurements were
performed in triplicate.
2.5. Image analysis: colour and shrinkage
At each step considered (raw, osmodehydrated,
osmo-air and air dehydrated to different weight reduc-
tion), four images, containing 25 apricot cubes each,
were acquired by digitalisation with a CanonScan
N650U flat-bed scanner (Canon Inc., Tokio, Japan), at
300 dpi resolution – full colour, in pre-standardized con-
ditions (black box overimposing) including a reference
colour scale, and were stored as TIFF files.
2.5.1. Colour
Colour attributes of apricot cubes in each image (L*
– lightness, a* – redness, b* – yellowness) were measured
by means of a specific feature of the Adobe Photoshop
5.5 Software (Papadakis et al., 2000). Images, before
colour measurement, were standardized (curve calibra-
tion software option) on the basis of the inserted refer-
ence colour scale, previously evaluated with a
reflectance colorimeter Minolta Meter CR 2000 (Minol-
ta Camera Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan). After calibration,
objects in each image (apricot cubes) were isolated from
the black background with a simple (‘‘magic wand’’)
threshold procedure provided by the software. Results,
originally in RGB colour scale, were expressed as L*,
a* and b* CIE – 1976 co-ordinates, after the application
of a computing routine (www.easyrgb.com). Details on
standardizing procedure in view of colour measurements
are reported in a downloadable PDF file (Riva, 2003).
The decrease of parameter L* and the increase of a*
were considered as browning indices.
2.5.2. Geometric features
After standardisation and colour measurements,
images taken for each sample group of 25 fruit pieces
were subjected to analysis of geometric features. Aver-
age values and standard deviation (between the 4
images) of each geometric feature were considered.
The images obtained from the above mentioned im-
age-analysis step (light objects on dark background),
were converted into grey scale and re-processed with Im-
age Pro Plus 4.5 Software (Media Cybernetics, Silver
Spring, MD, USA), which allows the automatic applica-
tion of a threshold procedure in order to select light
objects.
Geometric features of each cube and related statistic
of object population were consequently measured by
an automatic procedure provided by the software. These
features were: area, perimeter and roundness. The latter
is defined by the perimeter2/(4p area) ratio, an index of
aspect: this value, that is equal to 1 for a perfect circle,
536 M. Riva et al. / Food Research International 38 (2005) 533–542

increases when the surface of the object becomes rough.
Shrinkage indices (V/V0, where V0 is the average volume
of the raw fruit pieces) during osmotic treatment and air
dehydration were computed by reference to raw sam-
ples, on the basis of area values and assuming each ob-
ject as a cube.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Osmodehydration
At the same osmosis time, apricot cubes osmodehy-
drated in sucrose and sorbitol undergo similar solid gain
(Table 1), while water loss was lower in cubes osmodehy-
drated in sucrose. Doubling osmosis time in both sucrose
and sorbitol doubled solid gain but not water loss. Com-
paring the variations of the principal chemical constitu-
ents of pre-treated apricot cubes, the intake of the
sugar utilized as osmotic syrup, increased with the osmo-
sis time, and was higher in the fruit osmodehydrated in
sorbitol. Sugars not utilized as osmotic agents remained
stable during pre-treatments. The increases of total sug-
ars reflected the trend observed for the solid gains.
Ascorbic acid intake increased with the pre-treatment
time, and was similar in isotonic and sorbitol pre-treat-
ments, whereas the values were higher in sucrose
osmodehydration.

Table 1
Solid gain (SG), water loss (WL), and changes of sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose and sorbitol), ascorbic acid (AA) and total titratable acidity (AC)
– all expressed on 100 g of initial fresh fruit – of apricot cubes after immersion in isotonic (ISO), sucrose (SU) and sorbitol (SO) solutions, for 30 and
60 min (30, 60)
ISO 30 ISO 60 SU 30 SU 60 SO 30 SO 60
Dry matter (g/100 g) 15.60 15.50 17.62 19.77 18.54 20.87
SG 0.09 0.12 0.81 1.97 0.66 1.65
WL 6.59 7.02 14.51 19.17 19.41 24.75
Total sugars 0.07 0.04 0.63 1.83 0.64 1.56
Sucrose 0.06 0.17 0.8 1.95
0.47
0.51
Glucose
0.09
0.07
0.01 0.00
0.09
0.05
Fructose
0.01
0.02
0.06
0.03
0.03
0.04
Sorbitol
0.03
0.04
0.10
0.09 1.23 2.16
AA (mg) 55.06 69.22 66.61 86.19 56.64 66.99
AC (mEq)
0.15
0.15
0.05
0.01
0.11
0.12

Fig. 1. Composition (ref. to 100 g of raw fruit, assuming that insoluble solids remained constant) of sugar fraction of apricot cubes before (Raw) and
after immersion for 30 and 60 min in isotonic (ISO), sucrose (SU) and sorbitol (SO) solutions. Tg (above) and T 0g (below) values (°C) are reported at
the top of each bar.
 M. Riva et al. / Food Research International 38 (2005) 533–542 537

Table 2
Shrinkage (V/V0) and roundness indices, and colour attributes (including standard deviation) of apricot cubes raw and pre-treated in isotonic (ISO),
sucrose (SU) and sorbitol (SO) solutions, for 30 and 60 min (30, 60)
RAW ISO 30 ISO 60 SU 30 SU 60 SO 30 SO 60
V/V0 1.00 ± 0.012 1.08 ± 0.024 1.04 ± 0.031 0.90 ± 0.014 0.84 ± 0.017 0.87 ± 0.014 0.82 ± 0.016
Roundness 1.15 ± 0.012 1.22 ± 0.013 1.19 ± 0.014 1.17 ± 0.012 1.16 ± 0.013 1.18 ± 0.01 1.17 ± 0.012
L* 39.9 ± 1.2 39.3 ± 1.1 38.8 ± 0.9 38.6 ± 0.7 38.0 ± 0.9 37.5 ± 1.0 37.6 ± 0.9
a*
24.6 ± 0.4
24.6 ± 0.5
24.5 ± 0.4
25.0 ± 0.5
24.3 ± 0.6
24.2 ± 0.5
24.7 ± 0.4
b*
6.6 ± 0.3
7.9 ± 0.4
7.9 ± 0.5
7.5 ± 0.4
6.3 ± 0.3
7.4 ± 0.3
6.7 ± 0.5

(a)
Drying rate (kgH2O/kgDM/s)

1.E-03

1.E-03

6.E-04

2.E-04
1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Absolute Moisture (kgH2O/kgDM)

2.E-03
Drying rate (kgH2O/kgDM/s)

(a)
1.E-03

8.E-04

4.E-04 RAW
SU_60
ISO_60
(b) SO_60
0.E+00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Absolute Moisture (kgH2O/kgDM)

7.E-04
Drying rate (kgH2O/kgDM/s)

6.E-04 (b)

5.E-04

4.E-04

3.E-04

2.E-04

1.E-04

0.E+00
0 0.5 1 1.5
Absolute Moisture(kgH2O/kgDM)

Fig. 2. Drying rates of apricot cubes not (RAW) and pre-treated for 60 min in isotonic (ISO), sucrose (SU) and sorbitol (SO) solutions. (a) First
falling rate phase (up to 1.5 kg H2O/kg DM); (b) Second falling rate phase (below 1.5 kg H2O/kg DM).
538
Total titratable acidity decreased independently of
the pre-treatment time, and less in apricot cubes pre-
treated in sucrose.
Pre-treating apricot cubes in the isotonic solution, as
expected, caused only negligible solid-liquid exchanges
(Table 1).
Due to the simultaneous water loss and solid gain,
apricot cubes were concentrated in such a way that the
initial water/solid ratio was decreased by 1/6 after 30 0
and by 1/3 after 60 0 osmosis. The observed water–solid
exchanges were quite low compared to other fruit and
to previous results on the same fruit (Forni et al., 1997).
Sugar exchange during osmodehydration modified
sugar percentage distribution (Fig. 1). Sorbitol intake
lowered T g and T 0g values of apricot cubes, while the
pre-treatment in sucrose did not modify it. T g and T 0g
values of cubes pre-treated in sucrose did not increase
as expected, which could be explained by both a low su-
crose intake and no decrease of glucose and fructose in
the fruit (Table 1). These sugars, not being present in the
osmotic solution, should have diminished in the fruit as
a consequence of their migration into the solution. This
leads to the hypothesis of a slight hydrolysis of sucrose
and consequent formation of glucose and fructose inside
the fruit. This fact could have been favoured by the acid-
ity of the fruit and it has been already observed in straw-
berry halves subjected to osmotic dehydration in sucrose
(Torreggiani, Forni, Maestrelli, Bertolo, & Genna,
1995b; Viberg & Sjoholm, 1998).
The results from image analysis confirm the previous
observations on mass balance: shrinkage (V/V0) is high
in samples osmodehydrated both with sorbitol and su-
1
0.8
Ascorbic Acid (C / Co)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0 1
Fig. 3. Retention of ascorbic acid (C/C0, where C0 refers to ascorbic acid content before, and C during air dehydration) during air-dehydration of
apricot cubes not (RAW) and pretreated for 60 min in isotonic (ISO), sucrose (SU) and sorbitol (SO) solutions. Values quoted near each line
represent the C/C0-vs-moisture slope.
M. Riva et al. / Food Research International 38 (2005) 533–542
crose, whereas pre-treatment in isotonic solution causes
little increase in volume, as a consequence of structure
relaxation (Table 2). The same results on linear volume
shrinkage were also found by Viberg, Freuler, Gekas,
and Sjoholm (1998) on strawberry subjected to osmotic
treatment.
Colour parameters show a slight change after the os-
motic step: a* and b* co-ordinates maintain their origi-
nal values (no browning), whereas L* values show a
little decrease (darkening), lower for samples osmodehy-
drated in isotonic media (Table 2). These results are in
accordance with those obtained by Krokida, Karath-
anos, and Maroulis (2000) on apple and banana and
by Tan, Chua, Mujumdar, and Chou (2001) on
pineapple.
3.2. Air dehydration
As the osmosis time did not affect air drying behav-
iour, only data referring to apricot cubes pre-treated
for 60 min will be reported in the figures.
Air dehydration reduces water content without mod-
ifying sugar composition, and T g and T 0g values, except
for apricot cubes pre-treated 60 min in sucrose, and
dried at the lowest water content (data not reported).
In these fruits there was a slight decrease of T g and T 0g
values, which could be related to an increase of glucose
and fructose, linked to a slight hydrolysis of sucrose.
Drying kinetics were studied plotting drying rates vs
absolute moisture contents so as to emphasize the differ-
ences in water release mechanisms. Usually this ap-
proach is applied to inspect the different stages of a
0.1167
0.1048
0.1531
0.1761
ISO_60
SU_60
SO_60
RAW
2 3 4 5 6 7
Absolute Moisture (kgH2O/kgDM)
 M. Riva et al. / Food Research International 38 (2005) 533–542 539

drying process (heating of foods, constant rate period, 40

falling rate period). In our case (Fig. 2), no constant rate
39
period was observed, while two falling rate stages were
present. This phenomenon could be due to heat induced 38
damage of the fruit surface during the early stages of
drying and to the consequent prevalence of diffusion- 37
limited water release.

L*
The osmotic step, both in sucrose and sorbitol, in- 36
creased initial drying rate of apricot cubes in the first
35
(up to 1.5 kg H2O/kg DM) falling rate phase (Fig.
2(a)), probably due to 60 min soaking loosening the sur- RAW
34
face cellular structure, which was already observed in SO_60
strawberry tissue (Brambilla, Maffi, Bertolo, & Torr- 33 SU_60
eggiani, 2000; Chiralt et al., 2001). (a) ISO_60
Apricot cubes osmodehydrated in sucrose showed a 32
more pronounced drying rate reduction below 1.5 kg
H2O/kg DM (Fig. 2(b)), when compared to non-pre- -16 RAW
treated ones. This could be a result of the reduction of SO_60
tissue porosity, due to sugar infiltration (Karathanos, -18 SU_60
Kostaropoulos, & Saravacos, 1995), or/and the forma- ISO_60
tion of a peripherical layer of sugar (Collignan, Rao- -20
ult-Wack, & Themelin, 1992). Sorbitol intake did not
-22
show the same trend, as sucrose, in drying rate reduc-
a*

tion. Being a smaller molecule, compared to sucrose, it -24

could probably penetrate deeper into the fruit tissue,
so forming a less concentrated peripherical layer with
lower chances of crystallization.
Cubes pre-treated in the isotonic solution showed the
highest drying rate throughout the drying process (Fig.
2). This behaviour could be related to surface cellular
structure loosening, caused by 60 min soaking, and
not counterbalanced by sugar infiltration.
Observed differences in drying rates influenced qual-
ity parameters retention during air dehydration.
As for ascorbic acid, its residual fraction is higher
in apricot cubes osmodehydrated and thus having
lower moisture contents before air dehydration (Fig.
3). The slope of the plots of C/C0-vs-moisture, which
are reported in Fig. 3, where C0 and C refer to the
contents of ascorbic acid prior to and following air
dehydration to a given final moisture, respectively,
were lower for samples subjected to osmotic dehydra-
tion than non-pre-treated samples. This is most likely
linked to the lower phenolase activity, as already re-
ported by Ponting et al. (1966) and Forni et al.
(1997) for enzymatic browning in apricot. Fig. 3 shows
that, during air dehydration, ascorbic acid retention
(C/C0) is doubled by the osmotic step. The protective
effect is also related to the kind of sugar utilized, with
sorbitol showing the highest protection up to 1.5 kg
H2O/kg DM.
Concerning colour, drying caused a shift in colour to-
wards dark red, evidenced by a decrease of L* and in-
crease of a* values (Figs. 4(a) and (b)). This change is
significantly more pronounced in non-pre-treated cubes,
confirming the anti-browning effect of the mixture
-26
-28
(b)
-30
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Absolute Moisture (kgH2O/kgDM)
Fig. 4. L* (a) and a* (b) colour attributes changes during processing of
apricot cubes not (RAW) and pre-treated for 60 min in isotonic (ISO),
sucrose (SU) and sorbitol (SO) solutions.
ascorbic acid–NaCl added to the osmotic solutions (Piz-
zocaro et al., 1993). Colour and ascorbic acid changes
are related, in fact there was a decrease of ascorbic acid,
whose chemical action is to reduce the o-quinones
formed by polyphenoloxidase to colourless dihydroxy-
phenols (Pizzocaro et al., 1993).
Sorbitol intake lowered browning by reducing the de-
crease of L* values towards the end of the drying
process.
Osmotic pre-treatment even influenced, the evolution
of geometric features during the subsequent air dehydra-
tion step, mainly in the first falling rate phase.
Fig. 5 summarizes, in a graphic image referring to a
single apricot cube, the changes of geometric features
during processing: the osmotic step helps the fruit to re-
tain its original shape and has a protective effect during
air dehydration. Obviously, Fig. 5 is a simplification of
reality, because variability of geometric features is not
taken into account.
540 M. Riva et al. / Food Research International 38 (2005) 533–542

Fig. 5. Comparison among geometric features of apricot cubes not (RAW) and pre-treated for 60 min in isotonic (ISO), sucrose (SU) and sorbitol
(SO) solutions. Values at the foot of each image refer to water content (kg H2O/kg DM).

Fig. 6 illustrates the trend of shrinkage index (V/V0), 1.35

and Fig. 7 that of the roundness (ratio between the RAW
square perimeter and area of single fruit pieces) during SU_60
1.30
processing, obtained by image analysis and based on ISO_60
absolute moisture content. Sugars added during osmotic SO_60
dehydration help to slightly decrease volume reduction 1.25
Roundness

(V/V0) during the first falling rate phase of air dehydra-

1.20

0.90
1.15
0.80

1.10
0.70 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Absolute Moisture (kgH2O/kgDM)
V/Vo

0.60 Fig. 7. Roundness index during processing of apricot cubes not

(RAW) and pre-treated for 60 min in isotonic (ISO), sucrose (SU) and
sorbitol (SO) solutions.
0.50
RAW
SO_60 tion. In the same phase, as evidenced in Fig. 7, there is a
0.40 ‘‘protective’’ effect of sugars on the roundness parame-
SU_60
ter. In fact, fruit cubes, previously osmodehydrated,
ISO_60
showed less deformation and better retained the original
0.30
shape, with sucrose showing a slightly higher tissue
0 1 2 3 4
structure protection. Similar results, related to ‘‘shape
Absolute Moisture (kgH2O/kgDM) protection’’ of an osmotic step, were obtained in a pre-
Fig. 6. Shrinkage index (V/V0) during processing of apricot cubes not vious research on clingstone peaches (Riva et al., 2001).
(RAW) and pre-treated for 60 min in isotonic (ISO), sucrose (SU) and Other indices provided by the image analysis software
sorbitol (SO) solutions. (aspect, form factor, fractal dimension) confirm the
 M. Riva et al. / Food Research International 38 (2005) 533–542
previous observation: not only is shape better retained
by sugar intake, but also the surface smoothness.
According to literature data (del Valle et al., 1998;
Riva et al., 2001) a simple relationship was not found
between shrinkage during the air dehydration step and
ÔglassÕ–ÔrubberÕ transitions of apricot tissue. DT
(=T
Tg) values for air drying (70 °C) were: 128.0
(Raw), 127.5 (ISO), 128.0 (SU) and 131.4 (SO). All of
them are beyond the range of application of WLF kinet-
ics. Moreover using sorbitol the DT was increased, yet
colour showed the highest stability (Fig. 4). The fact that
sorbitol performed better than sucrose indicates that the
chemical nature of the infused solute could be more
important than its glass transition temperature in pre-
venting drying damages.
4. Conclusions
Incorporation of sugars and partial concentration of
apricot cubes, through an osmotic pre-treatment, in-
creased drying rate during the first falling rate phase
of the air dehydration step, improving colour stability.
The osmotic pre-treatments also slightly decreased
shrinkage and caused a better retention of surface
smoothness during the first phase of air dehydration.
Colour attributes and ascorbic acid content are better
retained in osmodehydrated samples, with sorbitol
showing the highest protective effect.
Our research confirmed the interest in the use of im-
age analysis techniques, in addition to conventional
observations, for commodities such as fruit and vegeta-
bles: image analysis can not only quantify appearance
parameters, that are of utmost importance in the quali-
tative performances, but it is also an useful tool to study
structure evolution during dehydration of very heteroge-
neous food materials.
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