Response surface analysis of vacuum freeze drying technology for Qixia apple
Using Box-Behnken response surface analysis method,vacuum freeze-drying process for Qixia apple was studied.The results showed that slice thickness, vacuum degree and maximum heating temperature were the main factors on the comprehensive indicator of freeze-dried Qixia apple crisps.The slice thickness was considered as the most significant influence on the comprehensive indicator.Quadratic regression model between the comprehensive indicator and 3 factors was established by response surface analysis.The results indicated that the model possessed good forecast reliability and fitness.The response surface analysis results showed that the optimized modified conditions were as follows: slice thickness was 6.00 mm, vacuum degree was 57.64 Pa, and maximum heating temperature was 59.66 ℃.Under this condition, the estimated comprehensive indicator of freeze-dried Qixia apple crisps was 1.635 which was consistent with the measured value.The microstructure observation results showed that the freeze-drying conditions had obvious effect on products' quality.After treated by the optimized process, the freezedried products had porous and spongy structure.The results showed that vacuum-freezing-dried apple slices could possess better taste and texture under the optimized technological parameters condition.