Freeze-dried apricot fruit is the most dehydrated product ground into powder.
Freeze-drying is a soft drying method in which the beneficial substances are preserved in the product, as they are not exposed to high temperatures. Lyophilization consists of 4 stages.
I stage. Pre-processing.
At this stage, the raw materials are carefully selected, and then crushed.
Stage II. Freezing.
At this stage, it is important to cool the raw material to the eutectic point - the temperature at which the solid, liquid and gaseous phases of the material can exist simultaneously. This is necessary so that the water crystals sublimate (sublimation is the transition of a substance from a liquid to a gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state), and not melt. Apricots are quickly frozen in special freezers at atmospheric pressure.
Stage III. Primary drying.
At this stage, the raw material is transferred to the sublimator, the pressure is reduced to several millibars, and exactly as much heat is supplied as necessary for sublimation. At this stage, 95% of the water is sublimated.
IV stage. Secondary drying.
The purpose of this step is to remove unfrozen water molecules. Temperature and pressure increase