Abstract

The aim of this work was to analyze the quality of red abalone dehydrated under osmotic vacuum impregnation (OVI) as a pretreatment to the convection drying process. Response surface methodology was used to optimize osmotic impregnation conditions. Then, diffusional parameters of salt (D-se) and water (D-we), the drying kinetics, and quality characteristics were analyzed. According to the RSM, the optimized impregnation conditions were 92 mbar at 20% NaCl for 14 min. The D-se and D-we diffusion parameters for OVI were 7.72 and 4.14 x 10(-10) (m(2)/s), respectively. The drying kinetics of the OVI sample obtained a higher D-we value than conventional impregnation. The quality showed a more tenderness product, higher rehydration and water holding capacity and less non-enzymatic browning and color change. Therefore, OVI is a promising alternative to conventional impregnation, the method currently used for pretreatment seafood which requires a long processing time.