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Moisture sorption characteristics of wadi, a condiment in the Indian Subcontinent, were investigated at temperature of 15-45°C and water activities (a w ) of 0.11-0.97. The sorption isotherms were sigmoidal. Nine different mathematical models were found to effectively describe the moisture sorption data on the basis of regression analyses and goodness of fit. Each model was statistically evaluated by means of percent root mean square and coefficient of determination. The GAB model gave the best fit in the entire range of a w . Temperature dependence of the GAB constants and good fit were determined. Using the Caurie's model, the properties of sorbed water, such as monolayer moisture content, number of adsorbed monolayers, density of sorbed water, bound water content and surface area of adsorption, which decreased with an increase in temperature, were calculated. The monolayer moisture content ranged from 102.7 to 128.7 g/kg solids in wadi. The optimum storage temperature and a w for wadi were 15-25°C and <0.7, respectively.

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Dhokla and idli are popular breakfast foods in India. The objective of the present study was to evaluate their antioxidative properties during different stages of preparation. The effects of fermentation on the enhancement of antioxidative activities were reflected by a higher total phenol content (TPC) in the fermented batters, which also displayed better antioxidative activities than their unfermented batters and steam-cooked products. Fermentation enhanced>2.5-fold TPC and>125% reducing activity. The fermented batters were better free-radical scavengers, which increased in a time and dose-dependent manner, than either the unfermented batters or their steamed products. There was significant enhancement of metal-chelating and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activities during fermentation. The TPCs of both dhokla and idli extracts were positively correlated with the respective values of other parameters, suggesting a possible role of phenolics in the extracts as the antioxidant. The data also revealed a strong correlation between any two of these five parameters tested.