Evaluation of the Changes in Thermal, Qualitative, and Antioxidant Properties of Terebinth (Pistacia atlantica) Fruit under Different Drying Methods

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effect of different drying methods on the thermal, qualitative, and antioxidant properties and pH of terebinth. To perform the experiments in this study, the hot air (HA), infrared (IR), microwave (MW), hot air–infrared (IR–HA), and hot air–microwave drying (MW–HA) methods were considered. The results showed that the minimum drying time was obtained by the hot air–microwave (MW–HA) method. However, the lowest specific energy consumption (SEC) and the highest energy efficiency (ηe) were obtained by the MW method. Considering the color criteria, the best method was obtained by the MW–HA method. The highest amount of rehydration ratio (RR) and the lowest shrinkage (Sb) of the dried terebinth samples were obtained using the MW dryer compared with other drying methods. The MW and MW–HA methods resulted in higher contents of total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant capacity (AntiOX) than other methods. According to the results of this study, the most effective drying method for terebinth was determined to be the MW and MW-HA methods.