Pré-tratamento abrasivo de tomate cv. Sweet Grape visando a redução do tempo de secagem

Abstract

This research considered an innovative method to accelerate the production of dehydrated unpeeled whole cherry tomatoes to be established as a gourmet product. In order to decrease the impermeability of the tomato skin without visible damage to the fruit integrity, Sweet Grape cherry tomatoes were submitted to an abrasive treatment of the epicarp, necessary and sufficient to exfoliate part of the external superficial skin layer, the main resistance to moisture mass transfer. The test were conducted in a horizontal rotating drum, with the internal wall covered by grit size 180 sandpaper, during 30 minutes. The performance of the abrasive treatment was evaluated monitoring the dehydration of treated and untreated cherry tomatoes placed in a perforated tray inside a vertical cylindrical dryer with air at 55ºC, 70ºC and 85ºC flowing through the fruits. Considerable reduction in drying time was found for the abrasive treated tomatoes in relation to the untreated ones, mainly at lower drying air temperatures. Differences in the drying behavior were observed from the very beginning of the dehydration process so that the initial water loss flux was use as a parameter to quantify the extension of the effect of the abrasive treatment. Considerable degradation of Ascorbic Acid was found in tomatoes submitted to the abrasive process and the final contents of Vitamin C in the dehydrated tomatoes , peeled and unpeeled, was very low.