Journal of Food Process Engineering 28 (2005) 35–52. All Rights Reserved. © Copyright 2005, Blackwell Publishing 35 DRYING METHODS AND QUALITY OF SHRIMP DRIED IN A JET-SPOUTED BED DRYER RUNGTIP TAPANEYASIN, SAKAMON DEVAHASTIN 1 and AMPAWAN TANSAKUL Department of Food Engineering King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi 91 Pracha U-tid Road Bangkok 10140 Thailand Accepted for Publication September 28, 2004 ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to experimentally investigate the effects of various parameters, i.e., size of shrimp, level and pattern of inlet drying air temperature, on the drying kinetics and various quality attributes of dried shrimp viz. shrinkage, rehydration ability, texture and color during drying in a jet-spouted bed dryer. It was found that the use of a constant inlet air temperature of 100C yielded dried shrimp of the best quality in terms of low percentage of shrinkage, high percentage of rehydration, low maximum shear force and high value of redness compared to shrimp dried using other condi- tions. A simple mathematical model that enables prediction of the drying behavior of shrimp in a jet-spouted bed dryer has also been developed. INTRODUCTION Dried shrimp is one of the most important exported marine products of Thailand. Its price largely depends on its quality viz. dryness, color (especially its redness) and size. In the traditional processing method, shrimp is dried under the sun for 3–5 h, depending on the availability of sunlight. Based on the recent survey, however, producers of dried shrimp are searching for dryers with higher efficiency that can uniformly and thoroughly supply heat to the shrimp without having to let it dry under the sun, hence minimizing labor cost and the possibility of product contamination. Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKJFPEJournal of Food Process Engineering0145-8876Copyright 2005 by Food & Nutrition Press, Inc., Trumbull, Connecticut.2813552Original Article DRYING METHODS AND QUALITY OF SHRIMPR. TAPANEYASIN, S. DEVAHASTIN and A. TANSAKUL 1 Corresponding author. TEL: + 662-470-9246; FAX: + 662-470-9240; EMAIL: sakamon.dev@kmutt.ac.th