Microbiological and quality characteristics of a traditional Chinese rice cake affected by a food-grade microemulsion

Abstract

Recently food-grade microemulsions have been of increasing interest to researchers and exhibited great potential on their industrial applications. The microbiological and quality characteristics of NuoMiGao, a traditional Chinese steamed rice cake, affected by a prepared food-grade monolaurin-containing microemulsion have been evaluated in this study. Microbiological analysis indicated that 0.05% microemulsion was comparable to 0.01% sodium dehydroacetate, extending the shelf-life by two days. The quality analysis showed that the addition of the microemulsion effectively prevented the hardening phenomena in rice cake; the lightness and yellowness were fairly stable while redness increased slightly (P<0.05); the lowered pH value and the prevention of moisture drop in rice cake were in agreement with the microbiological analysis and hardness trends.