title: Quality factors, antioxidant activity, and sensory properties of jet-tube dried rabbiteye blueberries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rabbiteye blueberries are an excellent source of nutrients and phytochemicals. They are often dried, which can degrade health-promoting compounds. Means of shortening exposure to high-temperature drying air are desirable. Five cultivars of rabbiteye blueberries ('Premier', 'Tifblue', 'Brightwell', 'Alapaha', and 'Powderblue') were dried in a jet-tube fluidized bed air dryer with varying pretreatments including mechanical abrasion and osmotic dehydration.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Drying time ranged from 66 to 95 min at 107 °C, achieving a final water activity of 0.347-0.605. Prior osmotic dehydration significantly reduced the drying time. Vacuum osmotic dehydration for 70 min achieved similar moisture contents to soaking blueberries for 24 h. Jet-tube dried blueberries exhibited greater color saturation than commercially available blueberries. While drying reduced the total monomeric anthocyanin (TMA) content, this occurred to a lesser extent than by other processing methods. The total phenolics content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (H-ORACFL values) increased after drying. 'Premier' was the most preferred vacuum-infused dried blueberry, with a water activity (aw) of 0.53 and 157 g H2O kg(-1). 'Tifblue' was most preferred amongst the overnight-infused and also unsweetened dried blueberries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Jet-tube drying can substantially reduce drying times while yielding blueberries with good color, sensory properties, TMA, TPC, and H-ORACFL values. Furthermore, some cultivars produce better-quality dried blueberries than others.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Pallas
authors.forename: Ronald B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Pegg
authors.forename: William L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Kerr
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry*; D029798:Blueberry Plants / Q000737:chemistry*; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003890:Desiccation; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D009995:Osmosis; D013649:Taste
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants