Refractance window drying of Spanish cherry (<i>Mimusops elengi</i> Linn) pulp: Impacts on drying kinetics, color, and phytochemical properties

In present study, Spanish cherry pulp (SCP) was dried using refractance window (RW) dryer at varying temperatures (50 to 90 °C) to investigate the impacts on drying kinetics and physicochemical properties and compared with freeze-dried samples. An increasing RW drying temperature from 50 to 90 °C reduced drying time from 320 to 80 min. The water and oil absorption capacity showed no significant (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) changes in RW-dried SCP samples. Noticeable changes in color values, ascorbic acid, β-carotenoid, total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity were observed on increasing RW drying temperature. As per results, compared to control, RW drying at 50 °C retained most of the nutrients. From nutrient retention perspective, RW drying at 80 and 90 °C may not be suitable SCP samples. From multivariance analysis, RW drying of SCP samples can be performed at 60 °C instead of 70 °C for better nutrient contents.