The understanding of water vapor sorption and equilibrium in food samples is crucial in the formulation of foods and in their storage stability. In this study, the moisture sorption isotherms of yacon powder was measured by using gravimetric method at 25℃, 35℃, and 45℃ under the relative humidity ranging from 11% to 75%, and nine different isotherm models were used to fit the experimental data and to analyze water vapor sorption on yacon powder. The experimental results showed that water vapor sorption for yacon powder followed a type III shape over the humidity range. The BET monolayer moisture contents values were slightly higher than the values predicted by the GAB model. The monolayer moisture content increased slightly as temperature increased. The surface areas for monolayer moisture sorption decreased with increasing temperature and blanching reduced these values. Through quantifying the relative percentage error (E), coefficient of determination (R2), standard error (SE), and root mean square (RMS) of the isotherm models relative to data, Halsey model was identified to be the best-fitting isotherm to describe the water sorption process in yacon powder.

• Jun Ho Lee(Department of Food Engineering, Daegu University)
• Ji Eun Choi(Department of Food Engineering, Daegu University)