Assessment of the color attributes of quince slices affected by microwave drying method and pretreatments using image processing approach
Abstract
This study focused on evaluating the influence of various pretreatments and microwave power levels on the drying behavior and color attributes of quince slices. In this context, quince slices were either pretreated with ultrasound, tangerine juice, or ascorbic acid, or left untreated (control), and then dried in a microwave at 300, 600, or 900 W. The color properties (L, a, b) of the fruit slices were determined by an image processing technique. In the study, the shortest drying time was determined to be 12 min at 900 W with ascorbic acid pretreatment. However, 900 W-ascorbic acid treatment gave the lowest total energy consumption (0.15 kWh). The highest values of the L, a, and b parameters determined by image processing were obtained in the 300 W - ascorbic acid (77.83), 600 W - control (15.40), and 600 W - ascorbic acid (52.37) treatments, respectively. The highest total color change was recorded in the 600 W - ascorbic acid (55.33) treatment. Tangerine juice caused an increase in redness in the product color. Ascorbic acid pretreatment effectively enhanced drying efficiency, minimized energy consumption, and preserved the color quality of quince slices. Pretreatments accelerated drying and minimized energy consumption. The color characteristics of the pretreated samples were better preserved than those of the control group (no pretreatment). While the drying rate was initially high, it decreased as the products lost moisture. In line with the findings, future studies are needed to develop new pretreatment strategies that optimize drying time, maintain color stability, and improve product quality, and to develop new pretreatment strategies for different fruit species.
Keywords
Etik Beyan
Kaynakça
- Alibaş, I., Zia, M. P., Yilmaz, A., & Asik, B. B. (2020). Drying kinetics and quality characteristics of green apple peel (Malus communis L. var. “Granny Smith”) used in herbal tea production. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 44(2), e14332. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.14332
- Alp, D., & Bulantekin, Ö. (2021). The microbiological quality of various foods dried by applying different drying methods: A review. European Food Research and Technology, 247(6), 1333–1343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-021-03722-3
- AOAC. (1990). Official methods of analysis (15th ed.). Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Armağan, H. (2022). Color based segmentation with k-means clustering algorithm and numerical analysis of the effect of color spaces on image quantities. El-Cezeri, 9(4), 1506–1517.
- Çetin, N., Ozaktan, H., Uzun, S., Uzun, O., & Çiftçi, C. Y. (2023). Machine learning based mass prediction and discrimination of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars. Euphytica, 219(1), 20.
- Çetin, N., Ropelewska, E., Noutfia, Y., & Günaydın, S. (2024). Recognition performance of different artificial neural networks for distinguishing banana slices subjected to different combinations of pretreatment and microwave drying. Food Control, 163, 110488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2024.110488
- Demiray, E., & Tulek, Y. (2014). Drying kinetics of quince (Cydonia oblonga L.) slices. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 38(3), 1251–1258.
- Doymaz, I. (2006). Thin-layer drying behaviour of mint leaves. Journal of Food Engineering, 74(3), 370-375.
- Guiné, R. P., & Barroca, M. J. (2014). Quantification of browning kinetics and colour change for quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) exposed to atmospheric conditions. Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Journal, 16(4), 285-298.
Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
Biyosistem
Bölüm
Araştırma Makalesi
Yazarlar
Seda Günaydın
*
0000-0003-2510-9638
Türkiye
Yayımlanma Tarihi
17 Nisan 2026
Gönderilme Tarihi
23 Haziran 2025
Kabul Tarihi
27 Ekim 2025
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2026 Cilt: 43 Sayı: 1