Rehydration Kinetics of Sun-Dried Eggplants (Solanum melongena L.) at Different Temperatures

Abstract

In this study, sun-dried eggplant samples were rehydrated at three different rehydration water temperatures (25, 35and 45°C) and the effect of rehydration kinetics were determined. Four different models were used to model therehydration behaviors of sun-dried eggplants, and non-linear regression analysis were performed to obtain the modelthat gives the best fit to experimental data. The coefficients of models were calculated. According to regressionanalysis, Peleg model gave a better fit for all rehydration conditions applied. Additionally, the effective diffusivitieswere between 3.21×10-8 and 4.06×10-8 m2 s-1. Rehydration water temperature influenced rehydration rates, andmoisture uptake of samples was faster at high temperatures.