Modeling of Moisture-Dependent Properties and Mineral Contents of Dry Mushroom

In this study, mineral contents and some physical properties, important for the design of equipments for harvesting, processing, transportation, sorting, separa-tion and packaging of white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus (Lange), were researched. Those properties were evaluated as a function of moisture content for the moisture range from 11.55 to 76.91 % dry base (d.b.) by rewetting dry white button mushrooms. In results, the average cap maximum and minimum diameter, cap height, carpophores height, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, mass weight and volume were obtained as 29.96, 23.12, 17.19, 30.48, 22.91 mm, 81.07 %, 1.08 g, and 2.93 cm3, respectively. The bulk density, true density and terminal velocity increased from 65.24 to 115.65 kg m-3, 375.8 to 394.6 kg m-3 and 5.77 to 8.05 m s-1 respectively. Whereas porosity and sphericity decreased from 82.64 to 70.69% and 78.39 to 74.9% under the increments of moisture content from 11.55 to 76.91 % d.b. in dry mushroom. Mathematical model were developed for the physical properties. Furthermore, mineral contents of dry mushroom such as N, P, K, Zn and Fe were 5.73 1.34, 3.54 %, 41.21 and 26.67 g kg-1, respectively.