Woodhead Publishing The Microwave Processing of Foods (Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition)

The impact of traditional thermal processing on the sensory quality of food has led to an interest in alternative technologies. Amongst these, microwave processing has proved one of the most successful and versatile. It is now widely used in processes such as thawing, dehydration and baking. Edited by two leading authorities in the field, and with a distinguished international team of contributors, this collection reviews both the theory and practice of microwave processing. It covers such key issues as improving modelling and process control to ensure uniform heating in optimising sensory and nutritional quality. Key Features: reviews recent research on how microwave processing affects particular foods; discusses how this technology can be optimised for the food industry; an assortment of examples are used to illustrate key points. Contents: Part 1 Principles: Introducing microwave processing of food: Principles and technologies; Dielectric properties of foods; Measuring the dielectric properties of foods; Microwave heating and the dielectric properties of foods; Microwave processing, Nutritional and sensory quality. Part 2 Applications: Microwave technology for food processing: An overview; Baking using microwave processing; Drying using microwave processing; Blanching using microwave processing; Thawing and tempering using microwave processing; Packaging for microwave foods. Part 3 Measurement and process control: Measuring the heating performance of microwave ovens; Measuring temperature distributions during microwave processing; Improving microwave process control; Maximising uniform head distribution in microwave heating.