Quality evaluation of solar and microwave dried shrimps – A comparative study on renewable and dielectric heating methods

Abstract

The study investigated the quality of shrimp dried under solar and microwave drying conditions. Microwave drying shortened the drying times to 58.3 % as compared to solar drying with increased drying rates. Effective moisture diffusivities of solar and microwave dried shrimp were 2.3 × 10 -10 m2/s and 6.7 × 10-7 m2/s respectively. Drying and collector efficiency was in the range of 26.3 – 33.4 % and 32.5 – 41.2 % respectively for solar drying whereas the efficiency under microwave drying was 35.7 %. Textural attributes of solar-dried shrimp were superior to microwave-dried samples. The rehydration ratio and shrinkage of solar and microwave dried samples were 2.39 and 24.67 % and 2.51 and 14.14 % respectively. Biochemical and microbiological analyses of dried shrimp under both drying methods were found to be within safe limits. Economic analysis of solar and microwave dried shrimp showed that solar drying is more economically viable than microwave drying for the production of dried shrimp.