Abstract:Taking the main factors of apple processing by microwave vacuum drying into account, such as microwave power, vacuum level and initial moisture content, the predicted second-order regression model of the sensory quality of microwave vacuum dried apple slices was obtained according to the experimental data by using orthogonal rotatable central composite design, and effects of these variables and their interaction on the product quality were analyzed by response surface method. To acquire higher quality of product, the ideal processing range of microwave power, vacuum level and initial moisture content were determined as 10.6~12.7W/g, 0.083~0.094MPa and 0.6~0.9 respectively. The optimal drying condition was found at microwave power 11.7W/g, vacuum level 0.089MPa and initial moisture content 0.75,,with the maximum predicted sensory quality mark as 9.51, and the experimental validated mark as 9.42. The results prove that the regression model agrees well with the microwave vacuum drying process.