Foam mat dried tamarillo powder: Effect of foaming agents on drying kinetics, physicochemical and phytochemical properties

Egg albumin (ALB), whey protein concentrate (WPC), soy protein concentrate (SPC), and gelatin (GEL) at 5% and 10% levels were used to develop foam mat dried tamarillo powder. The logarithmic model gave the best fit for drying of the foams. Powder samples with SPC and WPC as the foaming agents at 10% level possessed better powder quality, and least effective was gelatin. Increase in concentration of the four foaming agents to 10% improved the retention of phytochemical components in the powder, especially WPC. Highest concentration of gallic acid (890 mu g/g), chlorogenic acid (403 mu g/g), caffeic acid (85 mu g/g) and p-coumaric acid (297 mu g/g) among the phenolic acids, and beta-cryptoxathin (27.47 mu g/g) and beta-carotene (19.47 mu g/g) were determined in WPC-10P. Foam stability and powder properties of WPC were the best. This study will be directly helpful in the development and commercialization of novel food products using tamarillo fruit powder. Novelty impact statement Tamarillo fruit is seasonal in nature and foam mat drying, which is a very economical and convenient way for processing of the pulp and puree into powder, can be used to process the fruit. The findings of this study revealed that foam mat dried powder of tamarillo made with 10% WPC maintains more phytochemicals and has good physicochemical properties. Tamarillo powder has high potential to be used as a reconstituted drink in instant soup or as a food additive in novel foods.