ater loss, sucrose gain and the variation in concentration of other natural fruit sugars (glucose and fructose) were
studied during osmotic dehydration of pineapple slices (0.6 mm thick) in sucrose solution (60 % w/w) at three
temperatures (30, 40 and 50ºC). As temperature increased from 30 to 50ºC, the apparent moisture and sucrose
diffusivities (Dw and Ds) increased 3.8 and 2.8 times, respectively; therefore, the dehydration efficiency index
(Dw/Ds) increased with temperature. The loss of glucose and fructose increased with temperature too. It was found
that the solute content was a linear function of the moisture content and this relation was independent of the
temperature during the first 600 minutes of dehydration