Effect of pretreatments on drying characteristics of okra

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different pretreatment methods (blanching, microwave, and pulsed electric field [PEF]) on drying and rehydration behavior of okra. Drying rates were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by the different pretreatments. The control samples had the lowest coefficient of diffusivity while samples pretreated with PEF at maximum energy input (4 k V/cm, 500 nF) had the highest coefficient. A simple exponential model used for describing the drying behavior of okra gave moisture diffusivity values ranging between 4.56 x 10(-10) and 8.05 x 10(-10) m(2)/s and the coefficient of determination values were between 0.94 and 0.98. Rehydration capacities of the control and pretreated samples were significantly different.