Osmotic Drying of Apricot (Prunus armeniaca) in Sucrose Solution

Osmotic drying is a process of partial removal of water by submersing fruits in sucrose solution. Th e goal of this paper is to examine kinetic features of osmotic drying of apricot halves in sucrose solution. For osmotic drying of apricot halves in a thick immovable layer, a planned experiment was conducted. Experimental results were used to create an empirical model of osmotic drying kinetics which expresses the infl uence of analyzed experiment factors on water loss (WL). Th e experiment factors were temperature of osmotic solution, varied at two levels, 35 oC and 60 oC, and sucrose concentration varied at two levels, 50 oBx and 65 oBx. Using regression analysis of experimental data for water loss (WL) at statistical probability of 99 %, parameters of empirical model and correlation coeffi cient were calculated for the proposed mathematical model. Experimental results were approximated using the derived equation. Conformance of experimental results with the empirical model was evaluated using correlation coeffi cient (R). Correlation coeffi cient calculated for the proposed model was high, R = 0.976. It indicates fi ne agreement between experimental and model values for water loss.