Production of mango leathers by cast-tape drying: Product characteristics and sensory evaluation

Cast-tape drying (CTD) is a suitable process for the dehydration of fruit pulps to obtain leathers, flakes or powders. This study investigated the production of mango leathers by CTD, as well as their physical characteristics and acceptability. Drying curves were evaluated for mango pulp with and without starch addition (5 g dry starch/100 g dry mango pulp). Resulting mango leathers were conditioned at different relative humidity (RH), and their textures were assessed by mechanical-acoustic measurements and correlated to sensory analyses. Starch addition did not influence the drying time (18 min). Mango leathers conditioned at 22.5% RH were very crisp and preferred by consumers, independent of the starch addition. The texture was the attribute that most influenced consumer's choice and was well correlated with the number of force and sound peaks, as well as with sound pressure level. Therefore, CTD is an adequate drying process to produce mango leathers at relatively short times.