Effect of solar radiation on cooking/drying process of grapes using solar oven

Abstract

Solar ovens have become a very popular technology for cooking, specially, in underdeveloped countries where access to firewood is scarce, time consuming and expensive. The benefits of solar cooking are multiple, such as saving money, as this device requires no fuel, as well as having an important impact in the environment, decreasing carbon dioxide emissions and decreasing deforestation. One challenge for food industry is to get to know the behaviour of food cooked with solar technology. The aim of this study was to model the drying process of white and red grape in solar oven using thermodynamics and spectrophotometry measurements, controlling the irradiation effect blocking the Ultraviolet radiation using a polarized vinyl film Keywords: sun radiation; thermodynamics; solar oven; drying