Texture analysis of dried papaya (Carica papaya L.) previously treated with calcium and osmotic dehydration

Adding calcium to plant tissues increases firmness, however, another pretreatment is necessary to improve the texture of dried papaya. The texture of papaya dried by convection (DC) and previously treated with immersion in solution of calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 and osmotic dehydration (DO) is evaluated in this work. Papaya cubes (15 mm ± 0.5) of Maradol variety, in stage of maturity 4, pre-treated with Ca(OH)2 (1.5 g Ca(OH)2/100 mL water, 25 °C during 3 h) and DO (50 °C, 45 °Brix and 150 minutes) were dried with hot air (70 ° C, 3% HR, 1.5 m/s). The combination of Ca(OH)2 and DO resulted in a product with intermediate moisture, stable color, firm and minimal shrinkage. The texture profile analysis (TPA) was performed to fresh cubes, with and
without pretreatment. The analysis of variance (p≤0.05) of the parameters of TPA of convective dried samples, showed a significant difference in relation to fresh cubes (FC) and with pre-treatment (PC). The results show a modification of the texture and a change in the structure of the dried papaya, and consequently a reduction of drying time due to the application of the combination of pre-treatments.