Use of oleic acid derivatives to accelerate drying of thompson seedless grapes

Abstract

AbstractPilot scale procedures were developed for the use of fatty acid ester emulsions to decrease the time to dry the Thompson seedless grapes to raisins. Both sun and mechanical drying were used in these experiments. Mechanically harvested grapes were dipped in a 1% or 2% fatty acid ester emulsion and dehydrated at drying times less than those required for the soda‐dipped raisins. Spraying grapes on the vine with a commercial ethyl ester mixture, which contained an emulsifier and added potassium carbonate, allowed the grapes to dry faster than the conventional sun drying procedures. These procedures produced light colored raisins of acceptable quality. In addition, these methods show savings by decreasing labor costs.