Banana (Musa acuminata group Cavendish) treatment by the combined process of dewatering-impregnation soaking process (DISP) and drying was studied in the present work. Experiments were carried out in a laterally agitated vat. Bananas were cut into slices of 10 mm. thickness before soaking and drying. A method of banana treatment was determined and consisted of soaking products in two successive sucrose baths with respective concentrations of 35degreesBrix and 70degreesBrix, acidified at 3.5 pH with ascorbic acid. The first bath, which contained 1% calcium chloride to ensure the firmness of the fruit, served also in blanching the fruit. This consisted of soaking the fruit in the solution initially heated at 85 degreesC and leaving them to dehydrate while cooling slowly to room temperature over a period of 24 It. The mass ratio of fruit to solution for this bath was 1:6. Dehydration in the second bath at 70degreesBrix was conducted with a fruit to solution ratio of 1:4 and at room temperature, for economic reasons and for the quality of final product. This second treatment was doubly important: there was an increase in the sugar content of the fruit and further water loss maintaining the banana slice shape during the final drying. It also conferred on final product a good mouth-texture (the final product was softer), a pleasant sweet taste and spread the banana aroma more widely. Treatment in two successive baths led to a weight reduction of 60.2% and a solute gain of 2%. Bananas then underwent a moderate drying at 40 degreesC for 72 h with an air relative humidity of less than 60%. The water content of the final product was 16.5% and its average water activity was 0.54 +/- 0.02 at 25 degreesC. The final product had an attractive colour and did not show any brown pigmentation. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.