Microwave-assisted food processing technologies for enhancing product quality and process efficiency: A review of recent developments

Ekezie, Flora-Glad Chizoba; Sun, Da‐Wen; Han, Zhang; Cheng, Jun‐Hu

doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2017.05.014

Cited by 239 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…Microwave-vacuum pretreatments that combine the advantages of microwave drying, eliminate the drawbacks of conventional processing methods and rely on reduced pressure during microwave drying eliminate the risk of excessive temperature and degradation of heat-sensitive bioactive compounds (Cui et al 2012). Conventional drying methods and emerging food processing technologies, such as drying, extraction, baking, roasting, pasteurization/sterilization and tempering, are coupled with microwave methods to increase mass transfer, shorten processing time, reduce costs and improve product quality (Ekezie et al 2017). However, there is a lack of scientific research on microwave-vacuum pretreatment, its effect on mass transfer during hybrid osmotic and microwaveassisted drying, and the quality of whole cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Microwave-Vacuum Pretreatment on the Drying Kinetics, Color and the Content of Bioactive Compounds in Osmo-Microwave-Vacuum Dried Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

Zielińska

Markowski

2017

Food Bioprocess Technol

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The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of microwave-vacuum pretreatment conducted at 100, 500 and 800 W on the drying kinetics of whole cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) during hybrid osmotic and microwave-vacuum drying. Additionally, the effect of microwave-vacuum pretreatment and subsequent osmo-microwave-vacuum drying on selected quality indicators of dried cranberries, including phenolic content, antioxidant activity and color, was studied, and the quality of samples was compared with freeze dried, microwave-vacuum dried and osmo-microwave-vacuum dried samples. Irrespective of microwave power, the initial pretreatment accelerated mass transfer during osmotic dehydration of cranberries, and the Weibull model well fitted the experimental data. Final microwave-vacuum drying of cranberries was a two-stage process involving a relatively long phase with a constant drying rate, followed by a short period with a decreasing drying rate. Microwave-vacuum and osmomicrowave-vacuum drying resulted in similar retention of polyphenols and similar antioxidant activity, both of which were relatively higher than in freeze-dried cranberries. However, microwave-vacuum pretreatment at low microwave power (100 W) before dehydration also resulted in high retention of phenolic compounds, high antioxidant activity and attractive color, which were consistent with the high content of total anthocyanins and flavonoids. Microwave-vacuum, osmo-microwave-vacuum and osmo-microwave-vacuum drying combined with microwave-vacuum pretreatment at low microwave power (100 W) were the most suitable methods for the production of high-quality dried whole cranberries.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Microwave-Vacuum Pretreatment on the Drying Kinetics, Color and the Content of Bioactive Compounds in Osmo-Microwave-Vacuum Dried Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

Zielińska

Markowski

2017

Food Bioprocess Technol

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“…In the EO cooking method, heat energy is transmitted from the surface of the food to the center very slowly, whereas, microwave energy is converted into heat inside the food itself which provides homogeneous heat distribution. Therefore, microwave cooking shortens the cooking time, lowers the energy costs and makes the industrial production process sustainable and more efficient while preserving the nutritional quality of the product (Ekezie, Sun, Han, & Cheng, 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in chicken meat proteins during microwave and electric oven cooking

Taşkıran

Olum²,

Candoğan

2019

J Food Process Preserv

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Alterations in proteins and some functional properties of chicken thigh (TM) and breast meats (BM) cooked with microwave oven (MWO) were evaluated in comparison to traditional electric oven (EO). Cooking loss in both TM and BM did not differ between the cooking methods (p > .05). In TM, MWO cooking resulted in higher water‐holding capacity (WHC) than EO (p < .05). Sarcoplasmic protein solubility of TM decreased with MWO cooking while both cooking methods resulted in reduction in both sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar protein solubility in BM (p < .05). TM and BM cooked with MWO were harder in texture (p < .05) than EO cooked samples as determined in texture profile analysis. The intensity of myofibrillar protein bands in the Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE) decreased after cooking by both MWO and EO, whereas EO cooked samples demonstrated more fragmentation in both sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins in comparison with MWO cooked chicken meats. Practical applications Microwave cooking is an alternative, efficient method to reduce time, energy, and cost as compared to conventional oven cooking. In oven cooking, thermal energy is transmitted quite slow from the surface of the food to the center, whereas microwave energy is converted into heat inside the food itself which provides homogeneous heat distribution. In the present study, the effects of microwave and EO cooking methods on some quality characteristics, mainly proteins of TM and BM were evaluated. It was found that microwave cooking resulted in harder texture, but better WHC to its counterpart which also caused more degradation in myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins. Because microwaves shorten cooking time, lowers the energy consumption, and makes the production process sustainable and more efficient than with conventional ovens, while better preserving the nutritional quality of the product becomes a sound alternative. Therefore, it is worth to keep exploring this novel cooking approach that might render significant advantages in industrial applications.

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“…Thus, the crude fat content following VMD was higher than those of the other three methods. Other research showed that the microwave oven had less destructive effect on the fat in the sample (Chizoba Ekezie et al, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The benefits of microwave-assisted drying technologies include high thermal efficiency, shorter processing time, lower operating costs, and improved product quality (Chizoba Ekezie, Sun, Han, & Cheng, 2017). Vacuum microwave drying (VMD) uses microwave heating to dry the material under a vacuum environment with a low boiling point, a new technology in modern food processing that was developed to improve the quality of dried berries (Bruijn et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impacts of vacuum microwave drying on osmosis dehydration of tilapia fillets

Wang

Liu

Cao

et al. 2018

J Food Process Engineering

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Hot‐air (HAD), vacuum microwave (VMD), osmosis microwave (O‐MD), and osmosis vacuum microwave (O‐VMD) drying were applied to investigate the effects of osmosis dehydration and vacuum microwave on the quality and structure of tilapia fillets. Shrinkage ratio, rehydration rate, color, hardness, elasticity, microstructure, per‐unit energy consumption, and main nutritional components of tilapia fillets were compared over the four drying methods. Moisture content was quickly decreased by osmotic pretreatment. Fillets were dehydrated in a short time via microwave conditions (3 min by O‐MD; 11 min by O‐VMD). A vacuum environment promoted the formation of porous structures inside the fish fillets. As for nutrient composition, shrinkage rate, rehydration rate, hardness and elasticity, O‐VMD fillets and VMD fillets had similar performance. The composite drying method of O‐VMD improved the quality of the product and had comparatively better in terms of microstructure, per‐unit energy consumption (24.04 kJ/g) and color change (13.8). Thus, tilapia fillets produced by O‐VMD were of higher quality. Meanwhile, this study provided a reference for further research. Practical applications The purpose of dehydration is to decrease the moisture content to a low level at which microbial spoilage and quality deterioration are minimized. Drying is a traditional dehydration method in fish processing, able to deactivate the enzymes and remove the moisture to inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Vacuum microwave drying (VMD) uses microwave heating to dry the material under a vacuum environment with a low boiling point, a new technology in modern food processing that was developed to improve the quality of products. Few published studies have applied osmosis vacuum microwave drying to fish processing. Therefore, the aim of this work was to study the effects of vacuum and osmosis pretreatment on fillets drying process. Provided data can be applied for comparing the effects of different drying methods on tilapia fillet quality.

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Microwave-assisted food processing technologies for enhancing product quality and process efficiency: A review of recent developments

Cited by 239 publications

References 107 publications

The Effect of Microwave-Vacuum Pretreatment on the Drying Kinetics, Color and the Content of Bioactive Compounds in Osmo-Microwave-Vacuum Dried Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

The Effect of Microwave-Vacuum Pretreatment on the Drying Kinetics, Color and the Content of Bioactive Compounds in Osmo-Microwave-Vacuum Dried Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

Changes in chicken meat proteins during microwave and electric oven cooking

The impacts of vacuum microwave drying on osmosis dehydration of tilapia fillets

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