ABSTRACT
Osmotic dehydration is used for the reduction of the moisture content in food products by immersing in hypertonic solution. Mass transfer during osmotic dehydration takes place at ambient conditions avoiding phase change. The rate of mass transfer across the food structure is affected by temperature and time, osmotic agent, solution to sample ratio, solute concentration, structure of the food matrix, and agitation. In recent times, it has been coupled with ohmic heating, irradiation, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), pulsed electric field (PEF), ultrasound, vacuum, centrifugal force, freezing, and microwave to enhance the cell permeability, thus making the process faster and cost-efficient.
