Effect of microwave combined with ethanol pretreatment on the quality of potato CO2 explosion puffing drying.

[Display omitted] • The MH+EOD effectively addresses the non-uniformity inherent in microwave drying processes. • MH+EOD pretreatment enhanced the exchange of ethanol and water, and increased the puffing power in the CO 2 -EPD process. • The effect of different pretreatment methods (no treatment, hot air pretreatment, MH, EOD, MH+EOD) on the quality of the potato CO2-EPD was compared and analyzed. • The effects of microwave power, microwave time, ethanol concentration and ethanol soaking time on potato puffing and drying quality were analyzed. To enhance the drying quality of potato slices, this investigation employed a microwave heating (MH) combined with ethanol osmotic dehydration (EOD) pretreatment strategy to improve the quality of explosion puffing drying (EPD). This paper systematically investigated the effects of different pretreatment methods (no treatment, HAD, MH, EOD, MH+EOD) on the quality and physicochemical properties of potato slices subjected to CO 2 -EPD. The results showed that after MH and EOD pretreatments, the internal pores of the potato slices exhibited a uniform porous structure. The MH+EOD+CO 2 -EPD treatment demonstrated superior expansion, crispness, hardness, and color, with higher retention rates of vitamin C and protein. The measurements were an expansion ratio of 2.15, hardness of 1290.01 g, crispness of 745.94 g, ΔE of 6.54, protein content of 1.99 g/100 g, and VC content of 17.33 mg/100 g. Additionally, the study explored the effects of microwave power, microwave drying time, ethanol concentration, and ethanol soaking time on the expansion ratio, hardness, crispness, protein content, VC content, and color. MH+EOD+CO 2 -EPD is an environmentally sustainable and efficient solution with potential for widespread industrial application to enhance processing quality and economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]