6. Conclusion

Swell-drying" consists in coupling hot-air drying with a DIC texturing operation, thus effectively remedying the phenomenon of shrinkage. This operation, mainly but not exclusively used for organic products, intensifies the kinetics of the second drying phase.

The reduction in drying time leads to a considerable improvement in product quality. The vitamin content of the finished product is higher than that of conventionally dried products. However, flavonoid availability and antioxidant activity are often considerably higher than in the raw material itself.

The microbiological decontamination thus generated, the control of texture, the preservation of taste content and the presence of the aromatic dimension ensure that products "swell-dried" in this way are of the highest quality. Swell-drying's relatively low energy consumption makes it...