ABSTRACT
The preservation of foods by drying is the time-honored and most common method used by communities and the food-processing industry. The dehydration of food is one of the most important achievements in human history, making us less dependent upon a daily food supply even under adverse environmental conditions [1]. Drying in earlier times was done in the sun; now many types of sophisticated equipment and methods are used to dehydrate foods. During the past few decades, considerable efforts have been made to understand some of the chemical and biochemical changes that occur during dehydration and to develop methods for preventing undesirable quality losses. Foods can be divided into three broad groups based on the value added through processing by drying. In the case of cereals, legumes, and root crops, very little value is added per kilogram processed. More value per unit mass is added to foods such as vegetables, fruits, meat, and fish, and considerably more to high-value crops such as spices, herbs, medicinal plants, nuts, bioactive materials, and enzymes.
