• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.805-813
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• 1994

Zucchini slices, sweet potato stems, taro stems, and platycodon treated with various methods such as dipping in citric acid solution, sulfite solution, or sulfur fumigation were dried by the natural sun drying method or the forced air drying method at 50, 70, 90, or $105^{\circ}C$. Mold growth of the dried vegetables and sensory quality of the dried and rehydrated vegetables were investigated. Limiting moisture contents to prevent mold growth over 3 month storage under room temperature were 15, 20, 25, and 15% for zucchini slices, sweet potato stems, taro stems, and platycodon, respectively. The chlorophyll containing vegetables dehydrated by the forced hot air showed better sensory quality than those by the natural sun. Among the pretreatments, dipping in the sulfite solution provided the best sensory quality to the dried vegetables. The sensory quality of dried platycodon was improved to a small extent by sulfur fumigation and sulfite solution treatment. The sensory quality of the dried platycodon was not found to be affected by the drying methods. All the tested vegetables dried at $105^{\circ}C$ had the worst sensory quality. Except drying temperature of $105^{\circ}C$, the lower the drying temperature, the better the sensory quality and the rehydration rates were obtained for the tested vegetables except platycodon. The sensory quality of the platycodon was little affected by the drying temperature tested in the range of $50{\sim}90^{\circ}C$.