Production of High-Quality, Semi-dried Dorumuk (Arctoscopus japonicus) through Infrared-Assisted Air Drying

This study was conducted to investigate the potential of infrared assisted air drying (IRAD) to dry dorumuk (Arctoscopus japonicus). The IRAD system is composed of a far infrared lamp, convection fan, data loggable electronic balance, and proportional-integral-differential temperature controller. The infrared lamp provided radiative energy for temperature increase and substance moisture vaporization. The convection fan removed the moisture outside the drying chamber. Various IRAD conditions were tested at 40^oC & 5 m/s, 40^oC &11 m/s, 50^oC & 5 m/s, 50^oC & 11 m/ s, 60^oC & 5 m/s, or 60^oC & 11 m/s. The IRAD of 40^oC & 5 m/s could reduce the moisture content by 42.2 %. The IRAD of 60^oC and 11 m/s could further reduce the moisture content to 16.7% within 17 h. During the IRAD test, electrical energy consumption ranged from 1.16 to 1.38 kWh which is lower than that of hot air drying. IRAD resulted in dried dorumuk with yellow color and crispy texture. In this study, IRAD showed potential for the production of high-quality, dried dorumuk products.