Dehydration characteristics of carrot cubes were evaluated in a domestic
microwave oven (400 W) modified to allow passage of air at constant flow
rate and a given air temperature. The parameters included inlet air at two
temperatures (45 and 6O”C), and microwave oven operation at two power
levels (2 and 4). Conventional air drying with microwave off (power level
0) served as the control. Drying time to achieve the desired moisture level
in the final product, and rehydration characteristics of the product, were
used to compare microwave-assisted drying with the conventional
method. Microwave drying resulted in a substantial decrease (2590%) in
the drying time and the product quality was better when dried at the lower
power level.