This study presents the impact of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on the selected properties of mango dried with hot air and vacuum techniques. PEF pretreatment has been performed at 1 and 3 kJ/kg followed by drying. The results showed that PEF pretreated dried sample exhibited lower rehydration capacity for both convection or vacuum drying by up to 16 and 21%, respectively. Moreover, the retention of phenolic compounds in the case of PEF pretreated material was higher than for untreated by up to 70% in comparison to fresh material. In the case of carotenoids retention PEF pretreatment yielded the maximum values for 1 kJ/kg and minimum for 3 kJ/kg for all drying methods. The antioxidant capacity of the dried mango samples declined after high energy PEF treatment. These indicate that optimization of the PEF pretreatment is needed to avoid “overtreatment” of the product followed by the degradation of the bioactive compounds.
Practical application
Despite drying being one of the most popular food preservation and processing methods it can lead to significant loss of quality of the final product. Therefore, food researchers look for new methods to improve drying process and properties of dried food. Pulsed electric field technology belongs to the one of the most promising emerging methods capable of improving product quality after drying. This study has shown that PEF‐assisted drying results in better retention of dried mango.