Carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is a perennial leguminous evergreen tree native to the coastal regions of the Mediterranean basin and is considered to be an important component of vegetation for economic and environmental reasons. Two constituents of the pod, pulp and seeds, can be used as feed or in food production. In this study, drying characteristics, texture and microstructure of carob pods were studied. Three different carob samples were prepared: whole carob pod, carob pod parts and carob seed. The drying experiments and the modelling showed that carob seeds had the highest drying rate, followed by pod parts and the whole, intact carob fruit. Texture studies showed that the maximum compression force depended on the area of the carob fruit on which compression tests were performed. The seeds showed the highest compression force, followed by the stem zone, the tip and the centre of the fruit. Differences in drying behaviour and texture of carob pods can successfully be interpreted by the micromorphology of the carob pods and seeds. Determining the drying rate, maximum compressive force and micromorphological traits is of great importance for further carob processing (e.g. milling, sieving, carob bean gum production or usage in food or feed products).

中文翻译：

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与角豆荚和种子的微观形态特征相关的干燥特性和质地的评估。

角豆树（Ceratonia siliquaL.）是多年生的豆科常绿树，原产于地中海盆地的沿海地区，由于经济和环境原因，被认为是植被的重要组成部分。豆荚的两种成分，果肉和种子，可以用作饲料或用于食品生产。在这项研究中，对角豆荚的干燥特性，质地和微观结构进行了研究。制备了三种不同的角豆树样品：整个角豆荚，角豆荚部分和角豆种子。干燥实验和建模表明，角豆种子的干燥速率最高，其次是豆荚部分和完整的完整角豆果实。纹理研究表明，最大压缩力取决于进行压缩测试的角豆果实的面积。种子表现出最高的压缩力，其次是茎区，水果的尖端和中心。角豆荚和种子的微观形态可以成功地解释角豆荚干燥行为和质地的差异。确定干燥速率，最大压缩力和微观形态特征对于进一步加工角豆树非常重要（例如碾磨，筛分，角豆胶的生产或在食品或饲料产品中的使用）。