ABSTRACT
Osmotic dehydrated fruits have a good flavor, aroma, and nutritional value because of the scarce reduction in the mineral and vitamin contents. Osmotic dehydration (OD) represents a good choice to develop high-quality orange peel products, taking advantage of its interesting composition, increasing its sweetness, and improving its sensory acceptability. The chapter discusses some aspects of OD of orange and mandarin peels as an alternative to develop new minimally processed citrus peel products, to be used as food ingredients in the manufacture of dairy products, confectioneries or pastries, marmalades. It focuses on the effect of vacuum pulse on OD effectiveness and product final properties. In vacuum impregnation of a porous product, the exchange of the internal gas or liquid in the pores for an external solution with specific/selected composition occurs. Vacuum treatments lead to faster osmotic processes due to the coupled action of hydrodynamic mechanisms with pseudo-diffusional mechanisms.
