Effect of shape on potato and cauliflower shrinkage during drying

Shrinkage of potato cubes, parallelepipeds and cylinders was addressed during drying. A basic methodology by using image analysis was set-up in order to measure and monitor geometrical changes along the drying process. Both measurements by image analysis and directly with a calliper were carried out. Results from both methods showed a good agreement with no bias. Particle shape was found to influence shrinkage in a different way according to the axis. In fact the larger dimension shrinks less than the shorter one. This could be linked to the influence of the core drying in shrinkage. Experiments were also carried out for cauliflower stems. The difference in shrinkage between directions was greater for cauliflowers, due probably to the effect of alignment of fibers along the axis. Good agreement with existing data in the literature for specific volume was found.