Influence of Ultrasound-Assisted Osmotic Dehydration and Freezing on the Water State, Cell Structure, and Quality of Radish (Raphanus sativusL.) Cylinders

Ultrasound-assisted osmodehydrofreezing technique is a partial dehydration technique prior to freezing to diminish the tissue damage and preserve the quality by quickly removing part of the water from vegetable tissues. In this study, radish cylinders with three different water contents (85%, 80% and 75%, w/w) were dehydrated by osmotic dehydration (OD) and ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration (UOD). The effects of OD and UOD pretreatment on the characteristics (e.g., latent heat of fusion of ice, freezable water and microstructure) of dehydrated products and quality attributes (e.g., freezing time, firmness, drip loss and ascorbic acid content) of osmodehydrofrozen products were investigated. Ultrasound application significantly shortened the time of dehydration and subsequent freezing. Compared to OD products with equal water content, UOD products exhibited less freezable water content and better preservation on firmness and microstructure. After freezing/thawing, frozen products of UOD also displayed less drip and ascorbic acid losses and better firmness than that of OD.