Floros and Chinnan (1988b) found that the double-stage process was more effective than the conventional single-stage operation. They tested a double-stage lye(NaOH) peeling process involving pre-treatment (concentration, c1;temperature,T1;time,t1), holding time (th), and post-treatment (c2,T2,t2). The effect of seven factors on four responses (unpeeled skin, peeling loss, product vield and texture) was studied. Processing times and lye concentrations were the most important factors, while processing temperatures and holing times had no significant effect on the peeling operation A mild pre-treatment with 3.2% NaOH for 130 seconds combined with a relatively strong post-treatment of 8% NaOH for 60 seconds at 84องศาC and the holding time of 45 seconds were found to result in an optimum process.