Aroma recovery and retention in concentration and drying of foods

It is primarily food aroma that distinguishes the flavor of one food from that of another, and aroma quality often determines the acceptability of a food. When water is removed from a food, the loss or retention of the food aroma is one of the major considerations in the design of the food processing operation. This chapter reviews the research work that examines the behavior of food aroma when water is removed by the various techniques used in food processing. Water is removed from foods to provide microbiological stability, and to reduce storage and transportation costs. This chapter distinguishes between concentration and dehydration processes; the former includes those processes that increase solids content to about 60 % and the latter those that reduce water content to less than 10%. This chapter discusses the various aroma recovery processes. It then takes a look at the concentration processes where aromas are retained in the concentrate and drying processes where aroma is retained. This chapter ends with a discussion of the economics of concentration and drying processes