Effect of Hot Air Thin Layer Drying Temperature on Physicochemical and Textural Properties of Dried Horseradish

The horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) is an important crop as ingredients for many commercial food products and medicinal uses. However, the horseradish is perishable and preservation of this crop for supplying year-round is necessary. Drying can be used to preserve the horseradish but establishing a suitable drying method and conditions are important for product quality of dried horseradish. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of hot air-drying temperatures on the physicochemical and textural properties of dried horseradish samples to determine the appropriate hot air-drying conditions. The sliced horseradish samples were dried at 55, 65, 75, 85 and 95 ¡æ using a conventional hot air drier. The physicochemical and textural properties of the dried horseradish samples were determined, and the results were compared for different drying temperatures. The ANOVA analysis indicated that the drying temperature affected the physicochemical and textural properties of dried horseradish samples significantly (p<0.05). The experimental results indicated that the moisture content (9.18-6.15%,wb), aw (0.06-0.03), porosity (31.47-12.13%) and rehydration ratio (82.74 -44.47%) decreased and piece density (0.63-0.84 g/mL), hardness (193.63 -298.31N), cohesiveness (1.04-1.32), gumminess (202.13-390.12) and chewiness (635.08-1223.55) of dried horseradish samples increased with the drying temperature. Power law model indicated that the porosity was linearly corelated to the rehydration ratio of dried horseradish samples. The overall results revealed that relatively lower (55-65 ¡æ) drying temperature range was suitable to keep the quality of the dried horseradish samples. The findings of this study are expected to be helpful for the commercial drying of horseradish samples using hot air-drying method.