Drying- Introduction
M. Bhargavi Priyadarshini
• When, the fresh fish is not utilised by consumers and
converted into finished product then it
remains surplus and goes waste.
• Drying of fish is important, because it preserves fish
by inactivating enzymes and removing the moisture
necessary for bacterial and mould growth
• Dried fish is one of the most important
exported marine products in many countries
such as Turkey, Iran, India, Thailand, Russia,
China, Malaysia and United States.
Processing of fish by traditional
methods- salting, sun drying,
smoking, marinating and
fermentation
Drying and dehydration
• Drying is a process of removing water.
• It is one of the oldest methods of
preservation.
• Least expensive method of food preservation
• Water removal has two meanings
➢The physical removal of water (drying).
➢Immobilization of water by humectants
(common salt, sugars and glycerol)
The water shells around humectants, remove
the water from aqueous phase, thus lowering
the amount of water available for chemical and
microbial reactions.
• Drying may involve the addition of heat
• An increase in temperature
• The removal of water
• The addition of bacteriostatic compounds
• Addition of humectants
• pH changes
• Process for dehydrating foods include
pressing, drying in hot air, centrifuging,
solvents, microwave drying, freeze drying etc.,
Advantages of drying
cost‐effective
less storage space
Increase shelf life
Reduction in weight & bulk of food
Provides convenient product, easily handled
Ingredients.
Reduction in cost of transportation, etc.
Dehydration
• A process of drying under controlled
operational parameters like temperature, air
velocity, and relative humidity.
• Dehydration process is carried out in an
enclosure provided with the facilities to
control the operational parameters.
Advantages of dried foods
• Dried and dehydrated foods are highly
concentrated foods compared to any other
preserved form of foods.
• Drying reduces the microbial activity and thus
reduces the spoilage
• With reduced water content enzymic and
many chemical process are retarded
• Dried foods are less expensive to produce
• There is no involvement of complicated
machinery and equipment for processing and
packaging.
• They are stable at most ambient
temperatures.
• Distribution costs are minimum
Principle of drying
• Water is essential for the activity of all living
organisms- including microbes
• Reduction in the water activity to its complete
removal will proportionately retard or totally
stop all microbial and autolytic activities thus
preventing spoilage and results in
preservation
Water content and water activity
• The bonds between water and
protein molecules in fish may be
in several forms.
• Three layers of water
• An adsorption layer (tightly
bound; bound water)
• A diffusion layer (less tightly
bound)
• A free layer (free water)
The most effective physical method of assessing the
state of water in foods is water activity
• Measurement of partial vapour pressure of
water in equillibrium with a given moisture
content at constant temperature.
• A water activity of 0.80 means the vapor
pressure is 80 percent of that of pure water.
• The water activity increases with temperature.
• Water activity (aw) is expressed as the ratio between the water
vapour pressure on the surface of the product and water
vapour pressure of distilled water at the same temperature.
• Aw of pure or distilled water is 1.0 and absolutely dry product
Zero.
• Most foods have a water activity above 0.95 and that will
provide sufficient moisture to support the growth of bacteria,
yeasts, and mold. The amount of available moisture can be
reduced to a point that will inhibit the growth of
microorganisms.
Water activity and related microbial
growth
1.0- None
0.95- gram negative rods
Drying process
• Migration of water from the wet parts of the
material to a vapourisation zone where the
water vapour vapourises and its removal from
there to the surrounding atmosphere by the
circulating air.
• Both diffusion and evaporation occurs
simultaneously.
Factors effecting the drying or dehydration
• Equilibrium moisture content and the influence of
humidity.
Water moves from within the
fish to the surface by a
The pressure of water vapour
combination of molecular,
vapour and liquid diffusion
Greater than the air
Fish surface
Migration of water vapour from fish to surrounding air;
dehydration
Mass transfer
Movement of water
and solutes within
the fish Transfer of heat to the fish and within the fish
The processes of water movement and heat transfer are inter
related
heat Liquid –water-water vapour Evaporates
from the
surface of
fish
• The higher the evaporation rate, the higher the heat transfer to
the surface and the lower the temperature of the fish surface
with respect to the surrounding air
• Collectively called heat and mass transfer
Heat transfer
• Drying of fish involves the removal of water from the solid fish
body with the input of thermal energy.
The outward flow of water vapour
The inward flow of heat
• transfer of heat by conduction takes place by the exchange of
momentum of random thermal motion of the molecules to the
neighbouring molecules
Physical mechanisms- Mass transfer
• Liquid movement under capillary force.
• Diffusion of water caused by a difference in conc.
• Surface diffusion in liquid layers adsorbed at solid interfaces.
• Water vapour diffusion in air filled pores caused by a
difference in partial pressure
• Water vapour flow under differences in total pressure
• Water flow caused by shrinkage and pressure gradients
• Flow caused by gravity
• Flow caused by vapourisation- condensation sequences