COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY OF DRIED PIKE USING MICROWAVE CURRENTS AND HOT AIR DRYING

Abstract

To carry out the drying process, various technological processing methods are used: sublimation drying, drying with infrared radiation, microwave currents, thermal heating, etc. This article presents studies that are aimed at studying the technological process of drying fish raw materials (pike) with microwave currents (3 modes drying – 700, 800, 900 W) and thermal drying with hot air, research of sanitary indicative microorganisms during storage. Standard methods were used in the study. The experiments were carried out in triplicate and processed using the methods of mathematical statistics. The results of the study showed that drying with microwave currents is effective at 900 W, the drying time is reduced, and microbiological indicators are lower than with conventional thermal drying with hot air. The chemical composition of dried fish differs slightly, but when dried at 900 W, the product has a higher protein content. The shelf life of fish dried using microwave currents is higher than when dried with hot air, which is also a big advantage for this category of food products. The finished products met the standards of technical regulations and had positive physical, chemical and organoleptic indicators.