Microwave drying of balsam pear with online aroma detection and control

Volatile odor is one of the major sources of food flavor. To preserve the aroma components of balsam pear during drying, a microwave drying system was designed with online volatile detection and control ability. Balsam pear slices were first dried at fixed temperatures (50 degrees C, 65 degrees C, 80 degrees C), and the representative aroma volatiles were compared and analyzed. By detection of aroma volatiles during drying process, a fuzzy logic control assisted with zNose (TM) was further developed that could retain normal aroma and suppress burning aroma, thus the final product quality could be greatly improved. An industrialized control was finally designed to mimick the temperature curve in the fuzzy logic control without zNose (TM) attendance. The color difference, flavor, vitamin C, chlorophyll, and sensory evaluation of products with the industrialized control suggested well accepted quality. Hence the microwave drying with aroma process control has the potential to be used in large-scale industrial applications.

Automated summary

The study focused on preserving the aroma components of balsam pear during drying by designing a microwave system with online volatile detection and control. By utilizing fuzzy logic control assisted with zNose(TM), the system successfully retained the normal aroma of balsam pear and greatly improved the quality of the final product. The industrialized control system mimicking the temperature curve without zNose(TM) also produced well accepted products in terms of color difference, flavor, vitamin C, chlorophyll, and sensory evaluation.