Banana samples (4:30:177; 7:40:251 and 140:492 mm thick) were dried using the following drying regimes; convection
(60°C at 1.45 m/s); microwave (350, 490 and 700 W power) and convection followed by microwave (at 350 W, 4.3 mm thick sample)
®nish drying. The drying of banana slices took place in the falling rate drying period with convection drying taking the longest time.
Higher drying rates were observed with the higher power level. Microwave ®nish drying reduced the convection drying time by
about 64.3%. A physical model was employed to ®t the experimental data and gave good ®t for all experimental runs except microwave ®nish data. Microwave ®nish dried banana was lighter in colour and had the highest rehydration value.Ó2000 Published
by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.