In this paper, the importance of understanding the processes that are caused by dehydration of materials and lead to changes in the properties of these materials has been substantiated to select the method and drying equipment. The necessity of reducing the total product heat load during its processing has been accentuated. The actual process should be selected based on many factors, including the type of material being dried, the desired final product, the product sensitivity to heat and processing costs. The modern approaches to the development of innovative technologies on the example of dried cherries, tomatoes and pumpkins have been demonstrated.