Drying studies of Oyster mushroom

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.