APPLICATION OF A KURTA DRYING UNIT FOR DRYING FRUITS, GREENS AND VEGETABLES

The article discusses the application of the developed convective drying unit, designed for the production of kurt, for drying other food products, such as greens, vegetables and fruits. Kurt is a traditional Kazakh fermented milk product that requires special conditions for drying, which creates problems of seasonality in its production. The presented drying unit allows to solve this problem effectively, providing yearround production of chicken. During the experiments, the use of the unit for drying such products as parsley, dill, apples and sweet peppers was tested in order to evaluate its versatility. The results showed that the unit ensures fast and uniform drying, while preserving a significant amount of nutrients and vitamins. Weight loss after drying varied from 23% (parsley) to 60% (apples), which depends on the water content in the product. The device demonstrated high efficiency and reliability, and also opens up new opportunities for expanding the range of products in small and medium enterprises. The use of this unit can contribute to the development of the dried food and vegetable industry in the country, which has a number of advantages, such as simplified transportation and storage. Further research will be aimed at optimizing drying processes for various types of products, improving their quality, and assessing the cost-effectiveness of using drying equipment in small and medium businesses.