Abstract:
Mushrooms are highly perishable and can be stored for 24 hours under the ambient
conditions. Mushrooms were subjected to four different drying methods namely; freeze
drying, fluidized bed drying, convective drying and sun drying. The study involves two pre
treatments, blanching and blanching with chemical treatment. The quality parameters were
analyzed and freeze dried products exhibit good rehydration ratio, cooking quality and
better colour and firmness retention. The drying time was comparatively lesser than other
methods. Chemically treated freeze dried mushrooms were reported to be the best among
the freeze dried products. Longer shelf life of 34 days was noted with polypropylene and
polyethylene.
