Over the last decades, wide prospects for freezing have risen, commonly in combined techniques. Dehydrofreezing is a procedure which can limit damages caused by ice crystal formation, as the result of reduction in water content. In this research, the effects of different parameters in dehydrofreezing of cantaloupe, in addition to thawing methods were evaluated. Osmotic pretreatment was carried out by submerging cantaloupe cubes in sucrose syrups with different concentrations (40, 55, 70% w/w) for 1.5-4.5 hours at room temperature. In the following step, samples were drained and packed in polypropylene containers. Freezing was carried out at -20°C and samples were stored at this temperature for 4.5 months. Thawing was accomplished either in a refrigerator or a microwave oven. Drip, soluble solid loss, brix and pH of the final product together with sensory properties were evaluated. Sensory analysis was performed by 5 points hedonic scale. Results indicated that osmodehydrofreezing led to lower soluble solids loss. On the other hand, a noticeable difference was observed between thawing methods. In comparison with controls, osmodehydrofrozen samples had better quality attributes.

Keywords