ABSTRACT
Removal of moisture is a major unit operation in food
processing. It enables stabilization of agro-food materials
and improves their quality retention. It is also useful prior to
any conservation and transport of food wastes. Thermal
dehydration (drying) is the most popular and efficient way
to reduce moisture content and preserve foods. However,
drying is a high-energy-consuming process. Besides, the
product quality depends notably on its texture, color, and
flavor and deteriorates on drying. Some other techniques,
such as mechanical expression (pressing) and osmotic dehy-
dration (OD), can be used separately or be combined with
drying in order to remove moisture at lower energy con-
sumption and with better quality retention. Unfortunately,
moisture transfer is very slow through the semipermeable
membranes of intact cells. Accordingly, different pretreat-
ment methods (e.g., blanching, ohmic heating, and super-
critical carbon dioxide) constitute advantageous options to
permeabilize cellular membranes and enhance dehydration.
