The use of hot-air oven as an alternative drying method for salted shrimp paste production: Drying profile, fermentation rate, quality, and acceptability

AbstractThe study explored using a hot-air oven at various temperatures (35, 45, and 55 °C) as a promising alternative to traditional sun-drying for salted shrimp paste production. Comparing drying profiles, fermentation rate, quality, and acceptability with conventional sun-drying (CON), it was found that the alternative hot-air oven led to lower enzymatic activities and degree of hydrolysis during a 30-day fermentation (p < 0.05). Consequently, the alternative samples exhibited lower development of distinctive characteristics (color, browning intensity, formal, ammonia, nitrogen contents, and antioxidant capabilities) resulting in lower sensory scores compared to CON (p < 0.05). Interestingly, microbial populations in hot-air-dried samples were also lower than CON (p < 0.05). Based on PCA biplots and drying duration, drying at 45 °C with a hot-air oven seemed optimal for shrimp paste production. However, adjustments, such as prolonging fermentation or using a starter culture, are needed to make the alternative process comparable to the traditional product.Keywords: Shrimp pastehot-air ovendrying processfermentation ratefermented shrimp Data availability statementThe data that supports the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Ethical statementThe author obtained a certificate of ‘Basic Human Subject Protection Course’ (NU-NU042), which is available for preliminary experiments with sensory evaluations. The participants provided their informed consent to participate in this study.Disclosure statementNo potential competing interest was reported by the authors.Additional informationFundingThis research was funded by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT, Research Grants for Talented Young Researchers (2021), grant no. N41A640118).