Improvement of Temperature Distribution Uniformity of Ready-to-Eat Rice during Microwave Reheating via Optimizing
Chai Liu1, Liuyang Shen1, Huiran Liu1
1College of Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China.
Foods (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 12, 2023
Summary
Improving microwave reheating of ready-to-eat rice requires uniform temperature distribution. A novel metalized packaging design effectively reduces hot spots and enhances temperature uniformity, leading to better taste quality.
Area of Science:
- Food Science
- Microwave Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- The taste quality of ready-to-eat rice is significantly impacted by temperature distribution during microwave reheating.
- Non-uniform heating leads to undesirable 'hot spots' and affects overall consumer experience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temperature distribution uniformity of ready-to-eat rice during microwave reheating.
- To develop and evaluate a metalized packaging design to improve temperature uniformity.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of thermal properties (conductivity, dielectric constant, specific heat, loss factor) of rice at varying temperatures (10-80 °C).
- Investigation of microwave heating patterns, identifying the 'corner effect' and 'hot spot' phenomena.
- Design and comparative testing of four metalized packaging configurations.
Main Results:
- Rice thermal properties exhibit complex changes with temperature increases.
- The 'corner effect' in microwave heating contributes to significant temperature non-uniformity.
- A specific metalized packaging design (3.5×10-4 mL/mm2 spray film volume, 0.30 mm thickness) was optimized.
Conclusions:
- Optimized metalized packaging significantly improves temperature distribution uniformity in microwave-reheated rice.
- This packaging approach mitigates hot spots and enhances the quality of ready-to-eat rice.
- The findings offer practical solutions for the food industry to improve microwave reheating processes.
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