Dehydration and sensory quality evaluation of edible mushrooms: A critical review

Mushrooms are rich source of protein, minerals and vitamins. They have good quality protein and are producing the highest quantity of protein per unit area and time from the agro waste. Drying is a thermo-physical and physicochemical process by which the excess moisture from a product is removed. The purpose of dehydration of mushroom is to enhance storability and minimize packaging and handling cost. Pretreatment, drying temperature, drying time, drying method and moisture content of the product highly influence the final quality. Several drying techniques such as sundrying, solar drying, hot-air drying, tray and cabinet drying, fluidized bed drying, vacuum drying, infra-red drying, microwave drying, freeze drying and osmotic dehydration have been used successfully for mushrooms to prolong their shelf-life and storability. Various pretreatments of mushrooms before drying (washing in water, potassium metabisulphite (KMS) or other formulations; blanching, sulphiting, steeping) have been attempted to check the browning reaction and enhance the flavour retention and quality of dehydrated mushroom slices. This paper reviews all these aspects.