Effect of Temperature on Rehydration of Cornelian Cherry Fruit: A Kinetics Study

Abstract

Cornelian cherry is an important resource for human health and nutrition. Cornelian cherry is very rich in contains many mineral substances such as vitamin C. For this reason, it is important that cornelian cherry can be dried and used later. This was studied investigated the rehydration capacity and the kinetics of dried cornelian cherry fruit under certain conditions. Drying was carried out in a thin layer using a convective dryer. The drying conditions were determined as the different temperatures of air (50, 60, and 70°C) and the constant velocity of air of 1 m/s. The rehydration experiments of dried cornelian cherry were actualized in a hot water bath with a water circulator. The experiments were made with rehydration water temperatures of 25, 50, and 75°C. The rehydration characterization of dried cornelian cherry was evaluated in terms of rehydration curves, rehydration rate curves, final moisture content, and rehydration coefficient (COR). Fick’s 2nd law was employed to determine the coefficients of effective diffusivity of the rehydration process. The kinetics models of Peleg, the Weibull, the first-order, and the exponential were used to determine the kinetics of rehydration. The model of Weibull was determined to be the most suitable model for investigating the kinetics of rehydration of cornelian cherry samples. The Model fit was evaluated by considering statistical parameters such as R2, χ2, RMSE, and P%. In addition, the energy of activation of rehydration was figured with the rate constants of the most suitable models.