Abstract: The browning reaction during the drying process may decrease the quality of dehydrated garlic. Therefore, in this study, the effects of sodium sulfite concentration, soaking time and temperature were investigated on the color, rehydration ratio, sulfur dioxide residue, thiosulfinate content and in vitro antioxidant activity of dehydrated garlic. It was found that sodium sulfite solution could effectively maintain the quality of dehydrated garlic. Overall, soaking time and temperature had little impact on the quality of dehydrated garlic. After being treated with sodium sulfite solution (500 mg/L) for 30 min, the garlic color was better than that of control group. The sulfur dioxide residue increased with increasing either its concentration in the soaking solution or soaking time. After soaking, the thiosulfinate content was up to 0.115 mmol/g, significantly higher than that (0.077 1 mmol/g) of the control group.

Key words: garlic, sodium sulfite, dehydrated garlic slices, main quality attributes