Effect of varying combinations of pre-treatment and drying methods on the quality of chili pepper product
LWT, vol.242, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 242
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1016/j.lwt.2026.119111
- Journal Name: LWT
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Chemical Abstracts Core, Compendex, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Keywords: Chili pepper, Drying characteristics, Drying kinetic model, Molecular mechanisms, Water migration
- Ankara University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
This work was to develop a processing strategy that simultaneously optimizes the drying time and quality of dried products. The fresh chili pepper was assigned into eight groups, being hot-air drying, CaCl2 + hot-air drying, freezing + hot-air drying, CaCl2 + freezing + hot-air drying, vacuum drying, CaCl2 + vacuum drying, freezing + vacuum drying, and CaCl2 + freezing + vacuum drying (Ca × FVD). Results showed that Ca × FVD had relatively better drying performance with moderate drying rate, rehydration capacity (1.31), water-holding capacity (3.66), and the largest expansion force (4.00 mL/g). Swebull2 was determined as the optimal model to predict the drying process of chili pepper. The dried chili pepper from Ca × FVD group maintained the color quality (L∗ = 43.43, a∗ = 38.90, b∗ = 23.73, and ΔE = 4.26) similar to the fresh samples and alleviated the loss of nutrients. The flavor of Ca × FVD product was featured by baking and nutty. Metabolomics analyses revealed that Ca × FVD could exert positive influences mainly via maintaining cell integrity, inhibiting oxidation and regulating Maillard reaction. All data suggest Ca × FVD has the potential to be a workable approach for manufacturing high-quality dried chili pepper.