Over the last few decades, particular attention has
beenpaidnotonlytofruitcompositionandparticularly
to vitamin content, microelements, anti-oxidant sub-
stances, etc., but also to the continual development of
technological processes needed to preserve sensory
characteristicsandphysicalstructure.Whenconsidering
howtomaintaintheoriginalqualityoffruit,freezingis
themethodofchoice,butchemicalandphysicalactions
of freezing are detrimental to fruit structure integrity
Mohr, 1974).Pre-freeze treatmentscan help toreduce
or prevent) the detrimental phenomenon of loss of
shape and texture reduction of fruits at thawing Hux-
soll, 1982; Torreggiani, 1995). Water removal through
air dehydration, Dewatering±Impregnation±Soaking in
concentrated solution DIS), or their combination has
proved to be eective in reducing structural collapse
both after thawing and heat treatment even in such a
delicatetissueasthatofstrawberryMaestrelli