Use of average molecular weights for product categories to predict freezing characteristics of foods.
In the design of food freezing process, food property parameters, initial freezing temperature (T(Fi)), and frozen water fraction (X(I)) are required. The predictive approaches of these 2 parameters have been developed based on mass fractions and molecular weights of specific food components such as proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, and acids/bases. In this study, the molecular weights of the key mineral and acid/base components were successfully represented using average molecular weights (M) and 4 T(Fi) and X(I) calculation approaches were proposed. Based on an analysis of 212 food products, the absolute differences (AD) between the experimental and predicted T(Fi) values for the 4 approaches were small. The prediction for the food model category was excellent with average AD values as low as +/- 0.03 degrees C. For the other food categories, the prediction efficiency was impressive with values between +/- 0.22 and +/- 0.38 degrees C. The predicted relationship between temperature and X(I) for all analyzed food products provided close agreements with experimental data.
Boonsupthip
Waraporn
W
Dept. of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Kasetsart Univ., Jatujak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. fagiwpb@ku.ac.th
Sajjaanantakul
Tanaboon
T
Heldman
Dennis R
DR
D005502:Food / Q000145:classification*; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods; D005628:Frozen Foods / Q000032:analysis*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D008970:Molecular Weight; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis
D014867:Water