Abstract: Water content and dehydration rate of oyster subjected to microwave drying at various microwave intensities were determined. The effect of microwave intensity on rehydration rate, shrinkage rate and surface color of dried oyster were explored. The results showed that dehydration rate was improved and drying time was shortened with increasing microwave intensity. The time required for microwave drying of oyster was in the range of 3.5－30 min. Microwave dried oyster at middle intensity level such as 5 W/g or 8 W/g revealed better quality. A microwave drying kinetic model was established by the Page equation with excellent fitting degree.

Key words: oyster, microwave drying, kinetics