Maria João Lima

Comparative Study of the Drying of Pears Using Different Drying Systems

Different methods for the drying of pears, namely a solar stove, a solar dryer, and a tunnel dryer, were studied. All processes were conducted in three consecutive years to analyze if the behavior of each drying method showed evidence of a similar pattern, along with producing products similar to the traditional pears that are dried using direct sun exposure. The results showed that all methods led to a considerable reduction in drying time as compared to open-sun drying. Indeed, the drying time for the solar stove and the solar dryer showed a reduction of more than 40% while in the drying tunnel this reduction increased to more than 60%. In addition, it was also possible to conclude that the properties of the dried pears obtained by the three processes correspond to dried fruits similar to the traditional dried pears.