Infrared dry-blanching could be effectively used for blanching
of vegetables. The study showed that dry-blanching retained
up to 74% water soluble micro-nutrient vitamin C compared
to steam or water blanching, besides completely eliminating
the generation of liquid effluent. Reduction in initial moisture
content of the dry-blanched sample (13–23%) reduced the drying
time. The synergistic effect of dry-blanching and hybrid
drying resulted in better quality product in terms of vitamin
C (54%) and higher rehydration moisture (80%). Since IR based
systems could be easily scalable, a combined system for IR
blanching and hybrid drying could be developed for large scale
operations.