Effect of electrical pre-treatment on microwave-assisted drying of potato chips

Dehydration of fruits and vegetables affect their physical, biochemical and organoleptic qualities. These changes such as shrinkage, change in texture, color and taste of the food product can be minimized by reducing the drying time. Several researchers have reported that subjecting a food matrix to an electrical treatment can induce membrane permeabilization which improves the mass transfer rate during the subsequent conventional drying processes. Microwave-assisted drying is a fast and efficient method of dehydration, in which food materials can be dried in a shorter period of time with minimal thermal effect on the quality characteristics. Conventional method of drying of potato chips leads to browning during the process, hence deteriorating the quality of the dried product. In this research we evaluated the effect of an electrical pre-treatment on microwave-assisted drying of potato chips and its effect on the quality characteristics.