Drying kinetics and β-carotene degradation in carrot undergoing different drying processes

Superheated steam drying, which is an airless drying technology, has recently received much attention as an alternative to conventional hot air drying, which is a relatively oxygen-rich drying process and causes much product quality degradation. However, because most food products are damaged when subjected to superheated steam at atmospheric or higher pressures, lowering the dryer operating pressure is preferred. In this study, the effects of a low-pressure superheated steam drying (LRSSD), vacuum drying, and hot air drying on the drying and degradation kinetics of beta-carotene in carrot were investigated experimentally. LPSSD and vacuum drying led to less degradation of beta-carotene in carrot than in the case of hot air drying. The empirical models, which can describe the experimental data of beta-carotene degradation in carrot undergoing different drying techniques, were also proposed. beta-Carotene degradation in carrot depended more on the carrot temperature than its moisture content in all cases.