Published in Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture, Vol. LXVI, Issue 2
Written by Mihai FRÎNCU, Andreea BARBU, Violeta Alexandra ION, Andrei PETRE, Liliana BĂDULESCU
Due to their compounds and their beneficial properties for the body, vegetables are important ingredients in a balanced daily diet. By definition, vegetables are edible parts of the plant that can include: stems, roots, tubers, bulbs, leaves, flowers and beams. It is recommended to eat fresh vegetables, but when this is not possible, they can be preserved in various forms. One of the oldest techniques for preserving vegetables is drying, which involves reducing the water content of vegetables by exposing them to the sun or artificial heat sources. Dried vegetables are produced by different processes. In general, dried vegetables follow the same steps: selection of vegetables according to their shape and quality, peeling, slicing, preservation, dehydration (natural or artificial), sweating or salting, visual inspection and packaging. Drying is beneficial because it extends the shelf life, reduces postharvest waste, and massively helps reduce storage and transportation costs. This article reviews various methods of pre-processing of organic vegetables (cutting forms, different forms of bleaching, etc.) and different drying methods (classic by varying the temperature, vacuum, etc.).
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