ABSTRACT
Vacuum impregnation (VI) of a porous food with an external solution is an interesting treatment to promote fast compositional changes by the action of the hydrodynamic mechanism (HDM). This chapter aims to study the coupling of HDM and deformation-relaxation phenomena in some fruits to determine the feasibility of applying VI to modify fruit composition and structure for a number of industrial uses. It analyzes the behavior of some fruits of industrial interest throughout VI process. VI properties can be determined by using previously described equipment, which allows to measure the sample mass and volume changes throughout the VI process. The impregnation and deformation levels of the fruits can be measured at the end of the vacuum step and at the end of the VI process. The volume fraction of fruit impregnated by an external solution is the most relevant parameter when VI is used to promote compositional changes.
