Mass Transfer kinetics during osmotic dehydration of Beetroot Tutti -Frutti

Beetroot and beet juice have been known for their antioxidant, anticancer and anti-diabetic effects as well as being a source of dietary nutrients that reduce blood pressure and may improve athletic performance. Now-a-days, there is an increased interest in fruits and vegetables processing by products due to their nutritive value. The experiment consisted of various combination of sugar syrup temperature (40, 50 and 60°C), concentration (50, 60 and 70°Brix) and duration of osmosis (60,120 and 180 min) for preparation of beetroot tutti-frutti. The results indicated that the quality observations affected by various treatments. As the temperature and concentration of the solution were increased the water loss and sugar gain was also increased with increase in time. The optimized process parameters for osmotic oodehydration of beetroot cubes were found to be at 62Brix syrup concentration, 50C syrup temperature and 105 min duration of osmosis. The predicted water loss (maximum) and sugar gain (targeted) was 36.12 and 9.80 per cent, respectively at optimized input parameters on the basis of sensory evaluation, texture and overall acceptability.