Physical and sensory properties of vacuum microwave dried scallop

Vacuum microwave(VM) drying is a newly developed method in food processing. Vacuum microwave drying of scallop was investigated on the basis of physical and sensory properties, and compared with those of sun dried and air dried products as well. The qualities of VM dried scallop were affected by the vacuum pressure and microwave power. The scallop dried by VM at 3 W/g and 0.090 MPa had much better color and appearance than either of the other methods, and the shrinkage and rehydration were similar to sun dried product. It took only 30 min for the moisture content of the scallop to drop to 20%(wet basis) under this condition. Lowering microwave power and vacuum pressure to 2 W/g and 0.074 MPa, respectively, resulted in damage in color and appearance and higher shrinkage of VM dried scallop. All the scallops dried by VM had much higher dehydration rate and durability than sun dried and air dried scallops. VM drying has a promising potential in scallop dehydration on minimizing drying time and improving the quality of the scallop.