ABSTRACT
The fruit and vegetable snack market is growing due to the increase in the demand for appetizers that are rich in nutritional content, along with the rising consumer awareness, mainly related to healthy food and to the expanding consumer preference for convenience foods. To date, with the scientific and technological advances in food processing, several approaches are used for snacks design and processing from fruits and vegetables. Snacks production from these sources are revised in this chapter through main fruit and vegetable processing technologies. With “healthy snacking”, a somewhat fuzzy concept ingrained in the minds of consumers, fruit and vegetables look as promising raw materials. The control of water activity as a primary preservation factor to generate dried, intermediate moisture, and minimally processed foods through the use of modern and sophisticated methods such as convective drying, freeze-drying, microwave-drying, frying, osmotic dehydration, and vacuum impregnation as well as combinations and application of the “hurdle” concept in intermediate and high moisture products are reviewed herein.
