The effect of process variables and blanching on the rate of dewatering of apple slices through immersion in glucose solutions was analyzed. The adequacy of the Hawkes and Flink's and Peleg's models for fitting the rate data was evaluated as well as the structural changes produced in the tissue subjected to osmotic process. High concentration values (33-42 % (w/w)) of the soaking solution favored significantly water loss (WL) but only slightly affected solid gain (SG). Increasing system temperature over the range 20-50 °C generally provided an increase in WL and in SG. The increase in thickness decreased significantly both mass transfer rates. The use of sucrose instead of glucose lead to a greater SG while blanched samples showed higher rates of WL and SG. Microscopic studies revealed that, when applying short treatments, cells appeared slightly shrinked and cells walls folded. After long treatments, although an extensive