Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Concentration of liquid foods (such as milk and fruit juices) by boiling can cause thermal degradation of vitamins, pigments, and flavor compounds.
Lowering the operating pressure reduces the boiling point, allowing evaporation to occur at safer, lower temperatures.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
1. Under atmospheric pressure, water boils at \(100\ ^{\circ}\text{C}\), which can damage heat-sensitive liquid foods.
2. Vacuum evaporators operate at reduced pressure, lowering the boiling point of water to \(40\text{--}60\ ^{\circ}\text{C}\).
3. This allows rapid water removal while preventing thermal damage, retaining the nutritional value, color, and natural flavor profile of products like fruit juice concentrates.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Heat-sensitive liquid foods are concentrated at low temperatures in Vacuum evaporators.