1.46 - Microwave and Radiofrequency Processing of Plant-Related Food Products

Abstract

Thermal technologies have been employed in food processing for a long time. Application of heat aids in two ways: preserving foods and bringing out the desired texture, flavor and color. A challenge for food manufacturers is the efficient use of the thermal technologies to attain these objectives without damaging the desirable sensory and nutritional qualities. Since 1949, microwave heating of food has existed. In the United States, almost all households possess a domestic microwave oven. Microwave heating provides significant advantages over conventional heating, including reduced heating time, uniform heating, reduced quality losses, absence of solute migration in food material, versatile, simple, and compact equipment, and significant energy saving; but it has a salient shortcoming of low penetration depth, which makes it unsuitable for heating large or thick food materials. Microwave heating can be applied to various food processing operations, namely, drying, baking, roasting, blanching, pasteurization, and sterilization. Combinations of RF heating with microwave heating and other common conductive and convective modes of heating have been gaining momentum because of increased energy throughput. This article offers product and process developers, researchers, and educators with a widespread foundation on microwave heating and processing. Microwave processing is all about complex connections between electromagnetics, dielectric properties, heat and mass transfer, mechanics, rheology, food chemistry, microbiology, and packaging. The chapter aims to link the above-mentioned disciplines and demystifies microwave and radiofrequency heating of food.