Effect of Temperature Distribution on Predicting Quality Of Microwave Dehydrated Food

Mohammad U. H. Joardder; Azharul Karim; Chandan Kumar

doi:10.15282/jmes.5.2013.2.0053

Authors

Mohammad U. H. Joardder Faculty of Engineering and Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia
Azharul Karim Faculty of Engineering and Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia
Chandan Kumar Faculty of Engineering and Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15282/jmes.5.2013.2.0053

Keywords:

Food drying; temperature distribution; texture; colour; quality prediction

Abstract

During food drying, many other changes occur simultaneously, resulting in an improved overall quality. Among the quality attributes, the structure and its corresponding color influence directly or indirectly other properties of food. In addition, these quality attributes are affected by process conditions, material components and the raw structure of the foodstuff. In this work, the temperature distribution within food materials during microwave drying has been taken into consideration to observe its role in color modification. In order to determine the temperature distribution of microwave-dried food (apple), a thermal imaging camera has been used. The image acquired from the digital camera has been analysed using image J software in order to get the color change of fresh and dried apple. The results show that temperature distribution plays an important role in determining the quality of the food. The thermal imaging camera was deployed to observe the temperature distribution within food materials during drying. It is clearly observed from the higher value of (ERGB =102) and the uneven color change that uneven temperature distribution can influence customer perceptions of the quality of dried food. Simulation of a mathematical model of temperature distribution during microwave drying can make it possible to predict the colour and texture of the microwaved food.

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