Effects of four different drying methods on the colour, texture, sensory quality, microstructure, bacterial viability and storage stability of probiotic enriched apple snacks were assessed. The drying methods were air drying (AD), freeze drying (FD), freeze drying followed by microwave vacuum drying (FD+MWVD) and air drying followed by explosion puffing drying (AD+EPD). Overall, FD+MWVD can be used as a suitable drying method for the development of probiotic enriched apple snacks in consideration of colour, texture, sensory quality, bacterial viability and storage stability. Probiotic bacteria in FD+MWVD samples remained above 10 6 CFU g-1 for 120 days at 25°C. Interestingly, bacterial viability in FD+MWVD samples turned out to be significantly higher than FD samples during storage for 120 days.
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