Inês N. Ramos

• post-doc
• PostDoc Position at Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Ultrasound (US) treatment is an eco-friendly physical modification technique increasingly used to enhance the functionality of gluten-free flours. In this study, the impact of sonication on the techno-functional, thermal, structural, and rheological properties of a composite gluten-free flour was investigated. The flour, comprising corn starch, ric...

A snack made of 36% by byproducts of grape and tomato pomaces was developed, also including other ingredients, such as oats, chia, quinoa, honey and peanut butter. The recipe was defined as tasty and healthy by a focus group. The snack was produced by using forced air at three different drying temperatures (50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C). The Newton, Page...

Orange peel was dried applying three different processes: convective drying, microwave drying, and freeze-drying. Some physicochemical properties (moisture content, water activity, and color parameters) and phytochemical characteristics (total phenolic compounds and total antioxidant activity) were assessed in fresh and dried samples. Four kinetic...

The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of drying temperature and innovative pre-treatments (i.e., microwave and ultrasound) on “Rocha” pear drying behavior and quality characteristics, such as color, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Experiments were carried out with pear slabs subjected to microwaves (2450 MHz, 53...

This chapter discusses the simulation process of food solar drying, presenting the basic issues of mass and heat transfer under time-varying conditions. Food drying embraces several phenomena, and scientists do not completely understand its underlying mechanisms. However, mathematical simulation and modelling provide comprehensions to improve the k...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the drying characteristics and the effects of convective drying temperature on quality attrib0utes of watercress, without any pretreatment. Drying temperatures of 40, 55, and 70 °C resulted in drying times of 230, 119, and 92 min, respectively. The nutritional parameters were negatively correlated with the...

This work evaluated the effect of the air-drying temperature and vacuum packaging on quality and nutritional compounds of dehydrated galega kale, previously steam blanched, during 5 months of storage. When compared with the vacuum packaged kale, the packaging without vacuum yielded improved nutritional features, in general. This approach combined w...

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of six pretreatments on quality and nutritional contents of sliced Galega kale submitted to convective drying. Among all treatments, steam blanching was the most favourable, allowing improvements in retention of vitamin C, total antioxidant capacity and chlorophylls in comparison to the absence...

The objective of this work was to evaluate the drying characteristics and the effect of drying temperature on the quality characteristics of Galega kale without any pretreatment. Drying times of 330, 162, 78 and 51min provided minimal moisture contents, using temperatures of 35, 50, 70 and 85C, respectively. The L* and a* values diminished and b* i...

Two different pre-treatments were applied to grapes prior to drying in a mixed mode solar dryer. Grapes were blanched in water and in a 0.1% sunflower oil water emulsion, both at 99oC and for approximately 15 seconds. Several models were tested to fit the experimental data of drying curves but the normalized Newton model gave the best fit results....

Two different pre-treatments were applied to grapes prior to drying in a mixed mode solar dryer. Grapes were blanched in water and in a 0.1% sunflower oil water emulsion, both at 99oC and for approximately 15 seconds. Several models were tested to fit the experimental data of drying curves but the normalized Newton model gave the best fit results....

A computer program was developed, aiming at estimating water diffusivity parameters in a dynamic drying process with grapes, assessing the predictability of corresponding non-isothermal drying curves. It numerically solves Fick’s second law for a sphere, by explicit finite differences, in a shrinking system, with anisotropic properties and changing...

Solar drying of foods is an old technique, still used nowadays. Nevertheless, the mathematical approach of the complex phenomena involved is not completely integrated. Drawbacks appear in modelling heat transport, specially related to the huge variability of meteorological factors. The great dependence of the heat and mass transfer model parameters...

Microstructural changes in cells of Ruby grape (Vitis vinifera) quarters were monitored during first stage of convective air drying, under a stereo-microscope. A gradual overall shrinkage of grape cells was observed during the process. The cellular parameters: area, perimeter, major and minor axis length, Feret diameter, elongation, roundness and c...

oral presentation by invitation at IV Congreso Iberoamericano de Ingenieria de Alimentos (CIBIA IV)

This work aims at reviewing structural changes occurring in convective air drying of fruits and vegetables. These include changes in physical properties, such as volume, porosity and bulk and particle density, which directlyaffect textural attributes of the products. Models relating with water content physical properties are also summarised. At mic...

Microstructural changes in cells of Ruby grape (Vitis vinifera) quarters were monitored during first stage of convective air drying, under a stereo-microscope. A gradual overall shrinkage of grape cells was observed during the process. The cellular parameters: area, perimeter, major and minor axis length, Feret diameter, elongation, roundness and c...

Oral presentation at “8th International Congress on Engineering and Food (ICEF 8 - 2000)”