Quality studies on various types of partially dried vegetables texturized by Controlled Sudden Decompression: General patterns for the variation of the expansion ratio Original Research Article

Quality of dried vegetables texturized by Controlled Sudden Decompression (Détente Instantanée Contrôlée DIC®) was studied through the expansion ratio, the color and the degree of cooking. This study was realized as a function of the four main experimental parameters: saturated steam pressure, treatment time, water content of the product before treatment and the thickness of the pieces of the raw product. These parameters are of primary importance in determining the quality of the final product. The behavior of the matter vis-à-vis the treatments was also investigated. It was found that pressure had the highest effect with final product volumes being 2.2–4.5 times those after drying with hot air only. An optimum treatment time of 25 s was defined although for potato, with a denser structure, it was 45 s. General patterns for the variation in expansion ratio as a function of the operating parameters are proposed.