Spray Dried Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) Juice Ingredients as an Upcycling Strategy for Abundant Cashew Apple

Spray-dried yellow cashew juice ingredients produced under different inlet temperatures (140 and 150 °C) and gum arabic (GA) addition ratios (15% and 25% w/v) were evaluated for their physicochemical and phytochemical attributes and storage stability for 56 days. All spray-dried cashew juice particles showed high solids recovery (>70%) and solubility (>90%), low water activity (<0.3), and low hygroscopicity (<10%). Spray-dried particles prepared with 15% w/v GA showed spherical shapes with a semi-crystalline structure and higher ascorbic acid concentration (>650 mg 100 g−1) and total phenolic content (>330 mg GAE 100 g−1). During storage, spray-dried cashew juice particles maintained their water activity levels within the microbiologically safe range and retained high solubility, in addition to high ascorbic (>68%) and phenolic (>55%) acid retention. Overall, we showed that spray-drying cashew juice is a feasible strategy to upcycle abundant and undervalued cashew juice into stable, phytochemical-rich ingredients for multiple applications.