Vacuum impregnation (VI) is a food processing method by which air and native solution are removed from porous spaces within a food and replaced by an external solution. In this study, an experimental device based on a previous design was built, including some modifications, in order to investigate the dynamics of the VI process. The device measured the net force exerted by a food sample submitted to the VI process using a load cell. The influence of the vacuum level and sample geometry was well quantified by the experimental procedure and the modified equipment using apple samples (Fuji var.) as a food model. The results indicated that the experimental device proposed in this study, together with the suggested procedure, is a useful tool to investigate the dynamics of VI processes. It is robust and versatile, and has the advantage of not requiring the determination of the water evaporated during the VI process in a separate experiment, which represents an increase in the accuracy of the results.
The effect of the sucrose solution concentration (SSC) and vacuum-relaxation periods on vacuum osmotic dehydration of apples (Gala var.) was investigated. All experiments were carried out at 30°C, with SSC ranging from 0 to 65°Bx. The apple samples with 11.5 ± 1.4°Bx gained water for an SSC as high as 40°Bx and gained solids for an SSC as low as 5°Bx, depending on the applied vacuum and relaxation periods. The results obtained with isotonic solutions indicated that there is an optimum value for the relaxation and vacuum periods. It was shown that the vacuum and relaxation periods can be used to obtain the desired process result, a higher impregnation or a higher dehydration.
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