Effects of electrical and sonication pretreatments on the drying rate and quality of mushrooms

• Mushrooms were pretreated with EP (100 V/40 s) and US (35 kHz/30 min).
• Drying rate increased by 37.10% with the EP + US combination.
• US preserves the phenolic content and color values better compared to EP.

Application of pre-treatments such as electrical methods, and ultrasound are being used for decreasing the processing time and/or preserving the quality of the foodstuffs in drying technology. In this study, electroplasmolysis (EP) and ultrasound pre-treatments (US) were implemented for mushrooms. Elecroplasmolysis was performed at 100 V for 40 s and ultrasound was performed at 35 kHz for 30 min. Then samples were dried in a tray dryer at 50 °C with a 1.5 m/s air velocity. Drying rate and quality properties were investigated. As a result, the combination of pretreatments (EP + US) increased the drying rate around 37.10%. Ultrasound treatment preserved the phenolic content and color values better compared to electroplasmolysis.