DRYING BEHAVIOR AND SENSORY EVALUATION OF OSMOTICALLY DEHYDRATED JACKFRUIT PULP （Artocarpus heterophyllus var. Tinumbaga)

The objective of the study was to determine the drying behavior and to conduct a sensory evaluation on osmotically dehydrated jackfruit pulp as subjected to different osmotic solution temperatures where °Brix concentration and agitation condition were kept constant. A 1:10 fruit-to-solution ratio was also kept constant. Three treatments were studied: Treatment 1 was at 40°C±2, Treatment 2 at 50°C±2 and Treatment 3 at 60℃±2. From an initial value of 78.75-81.07%, the moisture content of osmotically dehydrated jackfruit pulp was reduced to 66.00-78.20% after one hour and fifteen minutes of osmotic dehydration (OD). The process was characterized by rapid moisture removal and solid gain in the early stage and increased slowly in the latter until equilibrium moisture content was attained. Statistically, Page had a better fit than Newton and Henderson, and Pabis for both moisture loss and solid gain. OD samples were subjected to oven drying to stabilize the weight. OD samples were evaluated using their sensory attributes. It was found that Treatment 1, 40°C±2 was the most acceptable among the three treatments.