Electroporation-driven nutrient preservation and rehydration enhancement in blueberry drying via high-voltage electrostatic field pretreatment

Given the nutrient loss, volume contraction, and poor rehydration inherent in conventional hot-air drying of blueberries, this research puts forward an innovative drying approach integrating the high-voltage electrostatic field pretreatment, which concurrently enhances product quality metrics and demonstrates sustainability performance. Single-factor and orthogonal experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of output voltage and electric field duration on dried blueberry (Zhenmeihao) quality. The quality of dried blueberries was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by measuring the rehydration ratio, leachate conductivity, sugar content, and the pH value. The blueberry drying experiment revealed that the optimal quality of dried blueberries was obtained when the output voltage was set at 10.187 kV and the treatment duration was 4.858 min. Under these conditions, the dried blueberries exhibited a maximum rehydration ratio of 2.150 and a minimum leachate conductivity of 115.977 μS/(cm·g), indicating that pretreatment with a high-voltage electrostatic field can effectively mitigate nutrient loss and poor rehydration of dried blueberries. The results provide theoretical and practical insights for optimizing blueberry drying processes, and contribute to the academic foundation of drying methodologies for materials pretreated with high-voltage electrostatic fields. • A new method for drying blueberries. • High-voltage electrostatic field pretreatment drying. • The theory of cell membrane electroporation drying. • Optimization of structural parameters of the pretreatment system.