The application of superheated steam impingement blanching (SSIB) in agricultural products processing – A review

• Polyphenol oxidase activity in grapes was analyzed with different SSIB treatment.
• SSIB treatment could significantly decrease the drying time to less than 20 h.
• Green–yellow raisins could be obtained without any chemical treatment.
• The effect of SSIB time on drying behavior is more significant than temperature.
• Most favorable conditions were proposed by reviewing drying kinetics and color.

Blanching is an essential step before processing of agricultural products as it can inactivate enzymes that cause undesirable changes. However, the widely used traditional hot water blanching has many disadvantages such as nutrients loss during blanching and pollution caused by waste blanching water. Therefore to alleviate these problems, the traditional hot water blanching method should be replaced by new blanching technologies without using water as the thermal media. Superheated steam impingement blanching (SSIB) technology combines the advantages of superheated steam and impingement technology, resulting in a rapid, no waste water and efficient process. This paper reviews recent advances in SSIB. The equipment used for SSIB was first presented, then application of SSIB in processing agricultural products including yam slices, sweet potato, grape, sea cucumber, fresh-cut lettuce, and apple quarters were briefly outlined, and finally challenges and opportunities associated with this technology were discussed.