Shrinkage characteristics of strawberries osmotically dehydrated in combination with microwave drying

The subject of this paper is to study the shrinkage of strawberries as a function of the moisture ratio during microwave-convective drying. Strawberries were pre-treated and osmotically dehydrated and dried at power levels 0.1 and 0.2W/g, based on initial mass. The main results showed that the shrinkage has a linear relation with moisture ratio; the equivalent diameter of the strawberry has a reciprocal logarithmic function with moisture ratio; the change in volume was bigger for the fruits osmotically dehydrated than for the not osmotically dehydrated ones, power level exerts influence on shrinkage and equivalent diameter for pre-treated and osmotically dehydrated samples.