Influence of certain types of treatment on the drying time and organoleptic characteristics of sliced eggplants

Abstract. Eggplant is a common vegetable crop from the Solanaceae family, whose share of global vegetable harvests in 2022 was about 5 %. However, eggplant is thermophylic and its fruits cannot withstand low temperatures due to physiological disorders and quality reduction. This fact and thin covering tissues make the shelf life of eggplant fruits short. For this reason, improving existing methods for preserving the quality and extending the period of use of eggplants is relevant. One of the most popular methods of preserving fresh plant raw materials is drying, but it requires the selection of a method (including pre-treatment of raw materials) and process parameters to preserve the quality of dried products. In the course of the study, the influence of certain types of physical and chemical pre-treatment (microwave frequencies, citric acid, sodium chloride, their combinations) on the drying time and organoleptic characteristics of sliced eggplant fruits of the Chernomor variety was studied. It was found that various types of treatments used influenced the duration of drying of eggplants: treatments with microwave frequencies and citric acid led to a reduction in process time by 31-43 minutes compared to the control; treatments with sodium chloride solution and complex treatments, on the contrary, increased the duration by more than 3 hours. Organoleptic evaluation of dried eggplants showed that the best characteristics were provided by treatment with 1% and 5% citric acid solutions. While pre-treatment with microwave frequencies and NaCl with various parameters gave an unpleasant taste and was accompanied by darkening of the product. The data obtained can be used to improve existing methods of drying eggplants. Key words: eggplants, drying, organoleptic characteristics, super high frequency, citric acid, sodium chloride