Effect of thermal packaging temperature on Chinese steamed bread quality during room temperature storage

Abstract

In order to investigate the influence of different packaging temperature on thermal-vacuum packaged Chinese steamed bread (CSB) quality under room temperature storage, the packaging temperatures of 50 °C, 70 °C and 90 °C were set respectively to study the effect on the packaging vacuum degree (VD) and starch retrogradation properties. The VD and moisture content of thermal-vacuum packaged CSB significantly increased with the increase of the packaging temperature from 50 °C to 90 °C, while the hardness of CSB decreased, and there was no significant difference in moisture migration during room temperature storage. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) indicated that CSB packaged at different temperatures formed B-type crystals, leading to an enhanced the ordered and dense state of starch structure, and the semi-crystalline growth ring structure disappeared during storage. The influence of different packaging temperatures on VD of CSB could effectively hinder the formation of ordered and dense state of CSB starch, consequently delaying the crystallization of amylopectin and inhibiting the progress of staling. The result of this study is of great significance for improving the quality of starchy foods and guiding the industrial development of Chinese steamed bread.