Preserving nutrient content in red cabbage juice powder via foam-mat hybrid microwave drying: Application in fortified functional pancakes.

Red cabbage, a highly nutritious cool-season cruciferous vegetable, is rich in anthocyanins; however, the instability of anthocyanins during processing and storage poses challenges. This study aimed to optimize the foam-mat drying process of red cabbage juice (RCJ) with a high anthocyanin content using a hybrid microwave hot air-drying system (MW-HAD) as a dehydration method compared to conventional techniques (HAD) using response surface methodology (RSM). Additionally, the produced red cabbage juice powder (RCJP) was used to enrich the pancake formulation. The developed model exhibited a high degree of reliability with optimal conditions and was determined for microwave power, temperature, foaming agent carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), and egg white protein (EWP) as 360 W, 60°C, 0.3%, and 1.2%, respectively. Moisture content (%) was decreased from 93.47 to 8.62 at optimum process conditions. In comparison to the control (60°C), foam mat drying with the MW-HAD hybrid system reduced the drying time (DT) by more than 90.9% due to the higher drying rate, while many physicochemical properties, especially total anthocyanin content (TAC), were better preserved. Utilization of RCJP in the production of anthocyanin-rich functional pancakes resulted in enhanced nutritional qualities compared to control pancakes with increased protein (35.07%), total phenolic (75.8%), dietary fiber (82.9%), and anthocyanin content (100%). In conclusion, MW-HAD demonstrates significant potential as a promising drying method to reduce the DT and preserve the physicochemical properties of RCJP. Furthermore, the application of the optimized RCJP in anthocyanin-rich functional pancakes highlights improved nutritional qualities, making a substantial contribution to the advancement of functional foods.