How Drying Can Help In Making Profitable Food Products

Have you ever used milk powder to make tea especially when you don’t have milk in the fridge?

What about your favorite instant coffee powder you need to make hot steaming coffee and relax?

Are you using readymade instant soup to make delicious soup at home?

Can you forget about the instant noodles which makes your breakfast, and sometimes even your lunch and dinner?

All the above products are similar.

Can you guess how they’re similar? Well, of course, all of them are food products made in food processing industry.

But what else? As such hundreds of food products are manufactured in food processing industry. Isn’t it?

If you get into the details, you’ll find them to be dried food products.

But how to make the dried food products?

That’s where the Food Drying comes into the picture. Why?

Because drying is one of the most important unit operation used in food processing industry to make dried food products.

But why food drying is practiced?

Why Food Drying?

Because food drying (it’s also known as food dehydration), is an old technique of food preservation. And it’s essential for enhancing the shelf life of various food products. During the food drying operation, the moisture content in the food products get removed to dry them.

But why to remove the moisture content?

Because the most effective way to preserve the food products is remove the moisture. The food products get spoiled due to the microorganisms.

So, you might have noticed that the water containing food materials get spoilt very fast. Why?

Because the most effective way to make the food products unattractive for the microorganisms to grow is to remove water. You know it very well that water is essential for the living organisms to survive. And the microorganisms are no exception. That’s precisely why water containing food materials allow the microorganisms to grow and get spoilt very fast.

So, what happens when you remove water from the food materials?

When you start removing water from the food products and reach the critical moisture level, the food products you want to preserve become unattractive for the microorganisms. In that situation, they can’t survive and grow.

That’s what Drying does with the food products. It removes moisture and you get dried food products of increased shelf life.

But is that all food drying does? No, not at all. There’re many other advantages. In fact, food drying contributes immensely to food industry.

Let’s talk about them:

Benefits of Food Drying

As we've already mentioned, the benefits of drying food are many. In fact, that's the reason why drying is used to make hundreds of profitable food products. We shall get into the details one by one.

Let's start with food preservation.

Preservation of Food Products

Preservation of Food Products is very important to save them from getting spoiled.

As we’ve discussed earlier, food drying helps in preserving food products. Drying is used to preserve seasonal fruits, vegetables, and other food products. So that you can enjoy them year-round.

It saves the food products from spoilage. In fact, it helps in maintaining their nutritional value over extended periods.

This significantly extends the shelf life of the dried food items. In most of the cases, it makes them suitable for long-term storage without the need for refrigeration or freezing.

Reduction of Volume and Weight

Because of the water removal, dried foods become lightweight and compact. The volume and weight get reduced considerably.

So, the dried food products require minimal storage space compared to fresh foods or the food products made by other food processing techniques. You need less storage space to store the food products.

Transportation becomes easy and less expensive. Packaging becomes easy and less expensive. It reduces the environmental impact associated with excess packaging materials.

Food Product Quality

Unlike the other some preservation techniques, properly dried foods retain a high percentage of their original nutritional ingredients in the food products.

In most of the cases, the nutritional ingredients get concentrated because of drying operation. And it results in enhanced taste and flavor.

Think of dried milk powder. See how it’s different from the fresh milk. Similarly, when you consider dried fruit juice powder, you’ll find how the nutritional ingredients get concentrated.

That’s why they become invaluable in making delicious dishes.

New Food Products

Sometimes food drying helps in making new food products which are convenient to use and offer additional food choices.

As for example instant tea mix helps you in preparing tea easily. You don’t need milk, sugar and even the herbs and spices (which you add to make the tea better). You just mix the powder with hot water and your hot tea is ready to be served.

In fact, different varieties of food products available in the market is because of food drying. You can formulate new and innovative food products using dried food ingredients to satisfy human wants. And who knows you can even meet the unmet human wants and which may result in food innovations.

Food drying also helps in when there’s shortage food supply. For emergency food supplies and disaster preparedness, dried foods are excellent options. Because they have a long shelf life and can provide nourishment when fresh food is not readily available.

When it comes to food drying, you need not limit yourself to local produce. You can always get food products of other locations which are not available in your area. It allows you to experiment with different cuisines and flavors.

Take the example of seasonal fruits which are available for a limited period in the year. You can dry them and store them. So that you can consume them when you want without any seasonal limitations. You can even transport them to other parts of the country.

You can buy seasonal agricultural output in bulk and dry them to make dried food products. And it’s cost-effective, as you can take advantage of lower prices during peak seasons and avoid paying premium prices for out-of-season agricultural output.

There are many other advantages of food drying. One of it’s advantage is it’s versatility. You can dry a wide range of foods, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, and others. You can even dry some dairy products.

But the drying techniques to be used will depend on what you want to dry and what type of dried food products you want to make. The most important aspect is to achieve the quality of the dried food products customers want and at a cost customers are ready to pay.

And when it comes to the customers, they want high quality products at low prices. So, you need to make the food drying cost-efficient. Isn’t it?

For that you need to know about the drying unit operation.

Let’s start.

Food Drying Processes

The major raw materials for the food processing are the agricultural output. The drying operation achieves water removal by evaporation. The liquid water in the raw material is converted into the water vapors. Though many drying mechanisms are used for food drying, they can be classified into two categories.

Direct Food Drying Process

Food drying by direct drying process involves exposing the raw materials to a heat source to remove water directly from them. Though there are several techniques for direct drying, we shall discuss about some major ones. Of course, the technique, equipment, and the product output will vary from process to process.

Sun Drying Process

One of the oldest methods of food drying is sun drying. Traditionally the food raw materials are spread out in the open air under the sun's heat to remove water.

Now also sun drying is practiced to dry fruits, vegetables, herbs and others in regions with ample sunlight. But it requires appropriate weather conditions and may not be suitable for drying all types of food raw materials.

The major advantage is the usage of renewable energy source – sun light. That’s why specially designed systems are being developed to make the process effective and done in closed condition to avoid contamination.

Hot Air Drying Process

In hot air drying process, the food raw materials come in contact with hot air. It results in water evaporation and makes the products dry.

When you increase the temperature of the hot air it’s water carrying capacity increases. And when the hot air comes in contact with the particles water evaporates from the particle surface.

That’s why smaller particle sizes result in higher surface area and hence the drying becomes fast. Of course, it’s not always possible to increase the surface area of the food raw materials because of other product requirements.

With high temperature hot air, the drying temperature of the food raw materials will increase. And higher temperatures can result in affecting the nutritional qualities. It’s especially important with heat sensitive food products. That’s why you need to optimize the process.

There are many hot air drying techniques available to dry the food raw materials like spray drying, fluid bed drying, air tray drying.

Indirect Food Drying

When you get into the details of indirect food drying processes, you’ll find the heat transfer is carried out indirectly. The food raw materials are not allowed to come in contact with the heat source.

In most of the cases the heat transfer utility (heat source) is separated from the material to be dried by wall. It’s a type of contact drying where the heat is transferred through the hot wall. ?

Air is not used and operation is performed in closed conditions. When you dry oxygen sensitive food raw materials, hot air drying becomes an issue. That’s where indirect drying can be a good option.

But in indirect drying processes the temperature of the food products must be increased to evaporate water effectively.

And when the nutritional qualities of the food products get affected or you’re dealing with heat sensitive food products it becomes a constraint.

So, you can’t use indirect drying. In that situation. Then how to solve this technical issue?

In order to solve this technical issue, we take the help of vacuum. Because under high vacuum the vapor pressure of water goes down significantly. So, you can evaporate water evaporation at low temperatures.

Because of that vacuum drying techniques have become very popular especially to dry heat sensitive food raw materials.

There are many indirect drying techniques available to dry the food raw materials like vacuum drying, and drum drying.

Of course, there are many drying technologies available based the drying process, equipment, and mode of operation. That’s why it’s necessary to go for integrated optimization of the drying unit process to make it cost-efficient.

You need to choose the food drying technologies based on the type of food raw materials, the cost of the system, and the desired quality of the food products.

The drying system must be efficient to ensure that the product is properly dried while retaining its flavor, color, and nutritional content.

Profitable Dried Food Products

When you study the commercially important dried food products, you’ll find a wide range of categories for different applications. In fact, these dried products are popular for their long shelf life, convenience, and versatility in various culinary usage.

The reason why the dried food products are popular is the advantages associated with the dried products. In fact, drying is a preservation method which allows for the storage and consumption of a wide variety of foods, making them available year-round by enhancing their shelf life.

Let’s talk about some of the major ones.

Dried Dairy Products

Milk and many milk products are dried to make many commercially important food products. Drying helps in reducing the weight and volume aiding in transportation, extending the shelf life, and result in making more useful form of food ingredients.

Some of the commercially important dried food products manufactured in dairy industry are - Whole Milk Powder, Skimmed Milk Powder, Cheese Powder, Cheese Whey Powder, Instant dry creamer, Dried Yogurt

Dried Fruits and Fruit Products

Many fruits are dried to make their dried versions. If you get into the details you’ll find the dried versions of the fruits are different from the fresh fruits. Think about Raisins. Though raisins are made by drying grapes, they’re different in many ways from the grapes.

In fact, you make a new food product by the help of drying. That’s not all. It results in significant reduction in volume and weight of the fresh fruits.

Some of the fruits which are dried to make commercially important food products are – Grapes, Apricots, Dates, Figs, Berries, and Coconuts.

Dried Vegetables and Vegetable Products

Many vegetables are dried to make their dried food products. When you get into the details, you’ll find the dried vegetables to have many applications.

They make it more convenient to use and sometimes result in new food products. Think about dried Garlic, Onion, and Ginger. They help a lot in cooking delicious dishes. Isn’t it?

In fact, drying helps in making concentrated food products. Because of water removal, the concentration of the nutrients increase significantly along with developing different flavors.

But that’s not all. Additionally it results in significant reduction in volume and weight of the fresh fruits.

Some of the vegetables which are dried to make commercially important food products are – Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Peppers, Onions, garlic, Ginger, Carrots, Herbs, and Spices.

Convenience Food

Convenience food products help simplifying and making the cooking process fast. They’re made to save consumers time and effort in the kitchen.

In most of the cases, they are pre-packaged and require minimal preparation designed for quick and easy consumption.

Of course, it's necessary to balance them with fresh and minimally processed foods so that you get optimal nutrition. That’s why you need to know about the nutritional content and ingredient lists of convenience food products and choose accordingly.

But do you know how they’re made?

If you get into the details, most of the convenience food products contain dried food ingredients. In fact, the convenience food products containing dried food ingredients have very high shelf life and you don’t need to store them under refrigerated conditions and they're easy to transport.

So, you see how food drying is helping the food processing industry. That’s why there’re many convenience food products available in the market.

Let’s talk about some of them:

Instant Noodles

You can cook the instant noodles very fast. In fact, you need only hot water. Within a couple of minutes your breakfast or even lunch and dinner (if you prefer) are ready.

Most of the formulations incorporate dried vegetables, dried herbs, and spices. So, you don’t have to add anything to it. That’s how it provides you with a convenient and fast meal option.

Soup Mix Powder

You feel like having a mug of hot spicy soup. No problem. Go for the packet of instant soup mix powder. Add into the mug of hot water and mix well. You favorite hot soup is ready.

Most of the dried soup mixes contain a blend of dried vegetables, dried herbs, and spices. You don’t have to add anything extra as the mix have all the soup ingredients. That’s how it provides you with a convenient and fast soup option.

Instant Rice Mix

You feel like having a bowl of vegetable fired rice. No problem. Go for the packet of instant rice mix. Add into the bowl of hot water and heat it for a minute. You favorite vegetable fired rice is ready.

Here you’ve got wide choice. You can choose from different formulations of instant rice mixes. In fact, you can go for curry rice mixes containing the ingredients of your favorite curry.

Most of them contain a blend of dried vegetables, vegetable oil, dried herbs, spices, and other ingredients along with precooked and dried rice. You don’t have to add anything extra as the mix have all the ingredients. That’s how it provides you with a convenient and fast option for your lunch or dinner.

Instant Hot Beverage Mix

You’re a busy individual. You want a mug of your favorite hot beverage fast. No issue. Grab a packet of instant rice hot beverage mix. Add it to the mug of hot water. Your favorite hot beverage is ready within a minute.

The best part of it is the pre-measured and pre-blended nature of these products which makes them ideal for special situations.

Instant Coffee Mix Powder

Most of the instant coffee mixes contain a mixture of dried coffee, sugar (or sugar substitutes, dried milk powder (both dairy and non-dairy as per your choice), and other ingredients.

Instant Tea Mix Powder

Most of the instant coffee mixes contain a mixture of dried coffee, sugar (or sugar substitutes, dried milk ?powder (both dairy and non-dairy as per your choice), and other ingredients like dried herbs and spices.

Instant Hot Chocolate Mix Powder

Most of the instant coffee mixes contain a mixture of dried cocoa powder, sugar (or sugar substitutes, dried milk powder (both dairy and non-dairy as per your choice), and other ingredients.

If you get into the details of the manufacturing processes used food processing industry, you’ll find how important drying unit operation is. In fact, thousands of food products are made with the help of drying.

As we’ve discussed earlier, food drying is an important food preservation technique which offers several advantages.

When it comes to extending the shelf life of the food products, preserving the nutrients, enhancing flavor, reducing waste, and promoting cost-effective and space-efficient storage, no other food processing technique can match the power of drying.

The aim is to make food products available in sufficient quantities at reasonable prices. Then only it’ll be useful to all of us. Isn’t it?

But various costs are associated with every unit operation. Drying is not an exception. So the only option is to make the unit operation cost-efficient. Right?

Making Food Drying Cost-Efficient

Many drying technologies are used for making various food products. Every drying technology calls for specific initiatives to make them cost-efficient. The major aspects to focus are as below:

• The cost of drying unit operation must be minimized to reduce the food processing cost.
• The capital investment in food drying system need to be minimized in order to minimize the financial cost.
• The drying operation must preserve the nutritional qualities of the food products. Optimum design and efficient operation are critical in achieving the product quality.
• The drying unit operation is energy-intensive. So cheaper sources of energy must be considered for minimizing the manufacturing cost.

In order to reduce the energy cost you can consider the initiatives like:

• You need to use waste heat based on their availability.
• For food drying solar drying is an optimum technology for cost reduction and the renewable nature of the energy source.
• By proper heat integration you can minimize the heat losses.
• You need to explore using energy efficient drying technologies

Integrated Food Processing

In a food processing industry, the manufacturing processes involve many operations.

You need to consider many conflicting techno-commercial aspects in order to arrive at the best possible solutions. In fact, you need to follow an innovative approach based on integrated optimization.

That’s essential to make the food processing industry profitable and sustainable. Food drying unit operation is an important part of the manufacturing process. So the drying system need to be optimized considering all relevant business aspects.

That’s where integrated food processing comes into the picture.

Integrated food processing aims at making the business cost-efficient and achieve zero waste operation. All parts of the agricultural output are utilized to make value added products.

Let’s Conclude

As we’ve discussed earlier, food drying is more than just a process. In fact, it's a critical unit operation for food processing industry. And it affects our daily lives, the environment, and the global food security.

Use the Power of Food Drying

You can’t deny the benefits. Drying helps in extending the shelf life of our favorite food products. It helps in reducing food wastage and hence the carbon footprints. It's a unit operation which combines convenience and sustainability.

Just think about it!

When you use dried milk powder for making hot tea or coffee or making your breakfast from instant noodles , you are getting the benefits of food drying. You realize what important role drying plays in making the food products. It is making them not only convenient, but also safe, sustainable, and delicious.

Value Added Food Products

When you study the commercially important food products, you’ll find hundreds of value added products which use drying unit operation in their manufacturing processes.

Due to the advantages of food drying you can design innovative food processing techniques to make a wide range of profitable food products.

Some of the food product categories are as below:

• Dried Dairy Products
• Dried Fruits and Fruit Products
• Dried Vegetables and Vegetable Products

When it comes to Convenience Foods they've got high market demand because of their advantages. But it's because of the drying unit operation a wide variety of convenience food products are getting manufactured. Most of them are dried directly or formulated with dried food ingredients.

Some of them as below:

• Instant Noodles
• Soup Mix Powder
• Instant Rice Mix
• Instant Hot Beverage Mix like Instant Coffee Mix, Instant Tea Mix, and Instant Hot Chocolate Mix Powder

Integrated Food Processing

You want to make the food products available to all at reasonable prices. And you want to utilize the agricultural output optimally to reduce the postharvest losses.

For achieving this target, you need to make the drying unit operation cost-efficient. Isn't it?

In fact, because of the interdependent nature of food processing operations, an innovation based integrated optimization can do justice. Especially when you want to achieve zero wastage by converting all parts of the raw materials into value added products. Right?

In this situation Integrated Food Processing is not an option. It’s a must!

When it comes to food drying, an innovation based Integrated Food Processing can make a difference in food industry by selecting and optimizing the drying technologies.

However you need to realize the importance of food drying and recognize the opportunities it provides. It’ll help you to design innovative processes for manufacturing profitable and sustainable food products.

The important aspects you need to focus on are as below:

Go for Sustainable Practices

Adopt sustainable drying technologies like solar drying or heat pump drying, which help in reducing the energy consumption and cost along with environmental impact.

Adopt Innovative Technologies

Keep track with the advances in the food drying technologies and explore the possibilities of utilizing them. In fact, significant improvements are possible when you implement innovation initiatives in your food processing business.

Reduce the Food Wastage

Drying unit operation can play a very important role in minimizing the postharvest losses of agricultural output and make the food production system sustainable.

Optimizing the drying technologies based on the raw materials available and final food products to be manufactured can make a huge difference.

Let’s join hands in using the innovations in the food drying technologies and developing them further to make the food products safe, affordable, delicious, and sustainable.

What is your experience in using Drying to Make Profitable Food Products?