Drying performance of five Italian apricot cultivars

Apricot drying is almost entirely carried out using solar energy. This technology poses concern about the quality and safety of the end product. Controlled drying may solve most of the problems encountered in sun drying. Apricot fruits of five Italian cultivars underwent hot air drying in a tangential air-flow cabinet dryer. Sampling was done at the beginning and end of the process and at regular intervals throughout, to calculate drying curves and quality loss. Results showed that mild drying temperatures led to slow drying kinetics, although pre-treatments reduced drying time to a certain extent. Pre-treatments resulted in good colour maintenance during the process, without trespassing legal limits of SO2 in the pulp, and microbial stability was excellent. Sensorial assessment was good, although one of the cultivars resulted in a slightly high acidic taste.