Cooking Technology Research Articles

Evaluation of usage and fuel savings of solar ovens in Nicaragua

Solar cooking technology has been promoted as a solution to both global poverty and environmental degradation, but relatively little research exists on the impact of solar oven usage on biomass fuel consumption. This study evaluates solar oven usage and wood consumption in northern Nicaragua during both the rainy and dry seasons, using surveys, temperature dataloggers, and direct measurements of fuelwood use. Solar oven owners reported usage on 79% of days during the dry season, and 41% of days during the rainy season. Comparison with oven temperature records confirmed usage on 50% of days during the dry season, and 16% of days during the rainy season. However, wood consumption measurements showed no statistically significant difference between days with solar oven usage and days without, suggesting that frequency of usage alone is not an appropriate proxy for fuel savings. Survey results suggest that a large part of solar oven usage came in addition to biomass cooking, as opposed to replacing it. These results suggest a need for further study of wood consumption in situ and more focus on the specific kinds of foods prepared in solar cookers, as well as local cultural and climatic conditions.

Freeze-thaw stability of rice starch modified by Improved Extrusion Cooking Technology

This study aimed to explore freeze-thaw (FT) stability of rice starch modified by Improved Extrusion Cooking Technology (IECT). FT stability of IECT-modified rice starch was investigated and compared with native one. Syneresis and SEM analysis showed that IECT-modified rice starch had better FT stability than native starch. Furthermore, IECT-modified rice starch had less significant changes in the rheological parameters during the FT cycles than the native starch. XRD and iodine binding analysis demonstrated that IECT treatment inhibited the association of rice starch, especially amylose retrogradation. Additionally, the peak at around 20° was detected in XRD patterns of IECT-modified rice starch, which confirmed the formation of amylose-lipid complex during the IECT treatment. These results suggested that the IECT treatment could improve FT stability of rice starch, which was ascribed to inhibition of starch retrogradation by IECT.

Stoves or sugar? Willingness to adopt improved cookstoves in Malawi

Malawi has set a target of adoption of two million improved cookstoves (ICS) by 2020. Meeting this objective requires knowledge about determinants of adoption, particularly in rural areas where the cost of traditional cooking technologies and fuels are non-monetary, and where people have limited capacity to purchase an ICS. We conducted a discrete choice experiment with 383 households in rural Malawi asking them if they would chose a locally made ICS or a package of sugar and salt of roughly equal value. Six months later, we assessed adoption and stove use patterns. Sixty-six percent of households chose the ICS. We find that having a larger share of crop residues in household fuel supply, awareness of the environmental impacts of woodfuel reliance, time the primary cook devotes to collecting fuelwood, and peer effects at the village-level increase the odds of choosing the ICS. Having a large labor supply for fuelwood collection and experience with a non-traditional cooking technology decreased the odds of choosing the ICS. In a rapid assessment six months after stoves were distributed, we found 80% of households were still using the ICS, but not exclusively. Our findings suggest considerable potential for wide-scale adoption of low cost ICS in Malawi.

Korean diet: Characteristics and historical background

BackgroundKorea has developed a unique food culture connected to its long agricultural history. Recently, interest in Korean food, especially regarding its health benefits, has greatly increased. However, there are insufficient resources and research available on the characteristics and definitions of Korean cuisine. MethodsResearchers and professors of the food and nutritional sciences in Korea began working together in April 2015 in order to establish cohesive definitions and concepts to be used in dialogue related to the Korean diet (K-diet). The 100 most representative Korean dishes (K-food) were selected by evaluating their role in tradition, culture, and health promotion. ResultsAlthough the K-diet has been widely discussed in regard to raw ingredients, traditional cooking methods and technology, fundamental principles, and knowledge, it would be valuable to preserve the traditional methods and knowledge of Korean foods rather than focus on the raw materials themselves. Korean meals have historically been served with bap (cooked rice), kuk (dishes with broth), kimchi, and banchan (side dishes) to be consumed at the same time. As traditionally baking or frying were not common cooking methods, Koreans tended to use fermenting, boiling, blanching, seasoning, and pickling. Among these methods, the most characteristic method is fermentation. The process of fermentation enriches food flavors and preserves foods. ConclusionThe K-diet is composed of bab (cooked-rice) and kuk, and various banchan with one serving called bapsang. Kimchi is always served at every meal. The principal aspects of the K-diet include proportionally high consumption of vegetables, moderate to high consumption of legumes and fish, and low consumption of red meat. Banchan is mostly seasoned with various jang (fermented soy products), medicinal herbs, and sesame or perilla oil.

Can Natural Gas Save Lives? Evidence from the Deployment of a Fuel Delivery System in a Developing Country

There has been a widespread displacement of coal by natural gas as space heating and cooking technology in Turkey in the last two decades, triggered by the deployment of natural gas networks. In this paper, we examine the impact of this development on mortality among adults and the elderly. Our research design exploits the variation in the timing of the deployment and the intensity of expansion of natural gas networks at the provincial level using data from 2001 to 2014.The results indicate that the expansion of natural gas services has caused significant reductions in both the adult and the elderly mortality rates. According to our point estimates, a one-percentage point increase in the rate of subscriptions to natural gas services would lower the overall mortality rate by 1.4 percent, the adult mortality rate by 1.9 percent, and the elderly mortality rate by 1.2 percent. These findings are supported by our auxiliary analysis, which demonstrates that the expansion of natural gas networks has indeed led to a significant improvement in air quality.Furthermore, we show that the mortality gains for both the adult and the elderly populations are primarily driven by reductions in cardio-respiratory deaths, which are more likely to be due to conditions caused or exacerbated by air pollution. Finally, our analysis does not reveal any important gender differences in the estimated relationship between the deployment of natural gas networks and mortality.

Application of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for the Production and Optimization of Extruded Instant Porridge from Broken Rice Fractions Blended with Cowpea

Instant porridge from low grade broken rice fractions blended with cowpea to enhance protein quantity and quality was developed in this study through extrusion cooking technology. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD) were adopted for the formulation and optimization of the process variables. The main objective was to obtain the optimum level of extruder barrel temperature (X1), feed moisture level (X2) and feed cowpea level (X3) that will produce optimum porridge having appreciably high protein, water dispersibility, lysine content and calorie value. ANOVA indicated significance (p˂0.05) of the models fitted in describing the relationship between the input and output variables in its natural state. The coefficient of the determination was also greater than 80% and non-significant lack-of-fit test. Numerical optimization results indicated that the optimum input variables were 120°C barrel temperature, 24g/100g cowpea formulation and 20g/100g feed moisture composition which produce 99.02% dispersibility, 24.13g/100g protein, 73.44% carbohydrate and 388.82kcal/100g calorie, and lysine of 5.02mg/g protein. These data will sharpen the weaning food industry by providing wide opportunity for new food production using low grade rice and common legumes, thereby increasing the economic values of both locally grown rice and cowpea.

連続蒸解装置の発展の歴史とアンドリッツの最新技術

連続蒸解装置の発展の歴史とアンドリッツの最新技術

Application of extrusion cooking technology in food industry

Snack foods are being considered integral part of human food habits and they become more relevant if targeted to satisfy the need. The promising feature of the technology is that the final product can be tailored as per nutrition requirement by changing the feed material composition. The concern of the present time to prepare such food products which can be aid in control prevailing diseases like heat problems, diabetics, blood pressure etc. extrusion cooking is a feasible technique to manufacture expanded products and has been the objects of studies to enhance the nutrition and functional properties of extrudates for the development of various product. Extrusion cooking results in starch gelatinization, denaturation of proteins, inactivation of many native enzymes and antinutritional factors, reduction of microbial counts and improvements in digestibility and biological value of proteins. Extruded product can be categorized for a particular application depending on their functional properties such as water absorption and water solubility indexes, expansion ratio, bulk density and viscosity of the dough.

Induction stoves as an option for clean cooking in rural India

As part of a programme on ‘access to clean cooking alternatives in rural India’, induction stoves were introduced in nearly 4000 rural households in Himachal Pradesh, one of the few highly electrified states in India. Analysis of primary usage information from 1000 rural households revealed that electricity majorly replaced Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), generally used as a secondary cooking fuel, but did not influence a similar shift from traditional mud stoves as the primary cooking technology. Likewise, the shift from firewood to electricity as a primary cooking fuel was observed in only 5% of the households studied. Country level analysis indicates that rural households falling in lower monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) classes have lesser access to electricity and clean cooking options than those falling in higher MPCE classes. Again, only three states in India with high levels of rural household electrification report consumption statuses more than 82kWh per month (the estimated mean for electricity consumption by induction stoves). Overall, the results of the study indicate that induction stoves will have limited potential in reducing the consumption of firewood and LPG if included in energy access programmes, that too only in regions where high levels of electrification exist.

Kraft Pulping of Reduced Metal Content Eucalyptus Wood: Process Impacts

The effect of using acid pretreated eucalyptus wood chips in the Lo-Solids® pulping process was evaluated in the laboratory. Lo-Solids® cooking technology was chosen to evaluate the impact of acid pretreatments on the cooking performance, brown stock chemical composition, and black liquor heating value. The acid leaching stage reduced the contents of transition metals and other non-process elements in the wood chips and in the pulps produced. Benefits were detected in terms of the reduction in white liquor charge, increase in pulp yield, as well as pulp viscosity and black liquor heating value. Carbohydrate content and other wood/pulp constituents were not affected by the acid leaching pretreatments.

Diacetyl in Foods: A Review of Safety and Sensory Characteristics

AbstractDiacetyl, noted for its appealing butter‐like aroma, is present naturally in many foods, and humans have been exposed to it since the beginning of civilization. The advent of microwave (MW) cooking technology has led to the development of a significant market for MW popcorn, to which diacetyl and other flavoring compounds have been frequently added. Based upon reported associations between diacetyl inhalation and lung disease in employees of MW popcorn processing facilities, a very conservative safe level of occupational exposure to diacetyl has been proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. Yet there is conflicting evidence that diacetyl causes lung disease in workers, and no evidence to condemn diacetyl as the cause of lung problems in MW popcorn consumers. Consumer dietary exposure to diacetyl in foods is below levels of health concern while common airborne levels of diacetyl from MW popcorn are far below the conservatively established limit to protect workers.

Effect of steamable bag microwaving versus traditional cooking methods on nutritional preservation and physical properties of frozen vegetables: A case study on broccoli (Brassica oleracea)

Abstract The effect of steamable bag microwaving on the nutritional value and physical properties of frozen vegetables was studied and compared to that of traditional cooking methods (i.e., steamer steaming and traditional microwaving) for the first time. Broccoli was chosen for this study since it is one of the most consumed frozen vegetables. Titration, oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay, colorimetry (L*, a*, b*, hue angle, and total color difference) and texturometry were used for evaluation. The results show that steamable bag microwaving performs better than traditional microwaving and is equal to steamer steaming in retaining ascorbic acid content and increasing antioxidant activity compared to thawed frozen broccoli. Steamable bag microwaving tenderizes frozen broccoli faster, and better maintains the broccoli lightness and yellowness than steamer steaming and traditional microwaving. These findings show that steamable bag microwaving is a more appropriate cooking method for frozen broccoli than traditional cooking methods. Industrial relevance Steamable bag microwaving is an emerging cooking technology for frozen vegetables. While steamable bag microwaving provides consumers with convenience and safety compared to other cooking technologies (i.e., traditional microwaving, steaming, and boiling), there is no information on the effect of steamable bag microwaving on nutritional and physical changes of frozen vegetables. Our findings show that steamable bag microwaving is more appropriate than traditional cooking methods and satisfies current consumers' needs better (i.e., high nutritional content, fresh-like produce, and time savings).

Extrusion and Extruded Products: Changes in Quality Attributes as Affected by Extrusion Process Parameters: A Review

Extrusion of foods is an emerging technology for the food industries to process and market a large number of products of varying size, shape, texture, and taste. Extrusion cooking technology has led to production of wide variety of products like pasta, breakfast cereals, bread crumbs, biscuits, crackers, croutons, baby foods, snack foods, confectionery items, chewing gum, texturized vegetable protein (TVP), modified starch, pet foods, dried soups, dry beverage mixes etc. The functional properties of extruded foods plays an important role for their acceptability which include water absorption, water solubility, oil absorption indexes, expansion index, bulk density and viscosity of the dough. The aim of this review is to give the detailed outlines about the potential of extrusion technology in development of different types of products and the role of extrusion-operating conditions and their effect on product development resulting in quality changes i.e physical, chemical, and nutritional, experienced during the extrusion process.

Effect of Apple and Rosehip Pomaces on Colour, Total Phenolics and Antioxidant Activity of Corn Extruded Snacks

Abstract Extrusion cooking technology was applied for obtaining corn extrudates fortified with various level (10-20%) of rosehip pomace powder or apple pomace powder. The total polyphenols content, antioxidant activities (ABTS), organoleptic properties and colour of the extrudates were determined. Pomace addition increased the level of total polyphenols content and antioxidant activity in obtained corn - pomace extrudates, especially in samples enriched with rosehip pomace. Extrudates with 20% of rosehip pomace addition characterized the highest polyphenols content and antioxidant activity. Only the slight decrease of some quality features - shape and size, taste and fl avour, structure and colour of obtained extrudates was observed. Sample with fruit pomace addition showed increasing consistency evaluation. The extruded products by utilising fruit by-products got good evaluation of panelists and can be an excellent source of bioactive compounds in the daily human diet.

Baking Geophytes and Tracking Microfossils: Taphonomic Implications for Earth-Oven and Paleodietary Research

Archaeologically oriented starch-granule and other plant-food microfossil research contribute to human subsistence studies primarily through analysis of residue adhering to plant processing tools. Little is known about whether or how plant-food microfossils may be present in remains of ancient earth ovens and other cooking facilities. Earth ovens with rock heating elements are found worldwide, especially in savannah and fuel-poor regions; they date to about 30,000 and 9,000 years old in the Old and New Worlds, respectively. Earth-oven baking is a cooking technology that effectively increases the availability of food in a given area by affording nutritional access to difficult-to-cook or toxic plant foods that would otherwise be indigestible. It effectively increases a landscape’s capacity to support population growth. Conventional-oven and lab-oven baking experiments assess the potential of ancient earth ovens to yield identifiable microfossils of underground storage organs (USOs) baked therein. During 15 min to 12 h of baking at 135–150 °C, identifiable and degraded USO microfossils accumulated as part of baking residue on cloth coverings, leafy packing materials, the inside of the containers, and on suspended microscope slides. Results of these taphonomic experiments indicate that an abundance of microfossils, including starch granules, phytoliths, raphides, and plant tissue, are emitted from USOs during the baking process. As hypothesized, these microfossils should be mobilized and dispersed in earth ovens per se during baking, primarily via liquid and vapor forms of water. Illuviation and other transformation processes are expected to redeposit baked, yet still identifiable, plant-food microfossils on heating-element rocks.

Comparison of cooking technologies for production of softwood kraftliner pulp

Kraftliner, used as the top and bottom layers in corrugated board, is one of the major paper products in the United States and worldwide and is a long-term growth business area for the pulp and paper industry. However, for many years pulping development for kraftliner has been limited. The lack of development may be because corrugated board standards in many countries have specified basis weight and not strength demands on the corrugated board. With the modifications of Item 222/Rule 41, the situation in the United States has changed. Recently, a new cooking technology has been developed enabling defibration of softwood pulps at considerably higher kappa number with low reject content. Pulp quality as a function of kappa number has been evaluated for this new cooking technology compared to pulp produced using a conventional kraftliner cooking technology. Lower H-factor demands and increased strength, measured as tensile energy absorption, were the most important differences found between the two cooking systems in this study.

Retrogradation behaviour of high-amylose rice starch prepared by improved extrusion cooking technology

Native rice starch (NRS, amylose/28.9%) was gelatinized by improved extrusion cooking technology (IECT) and retrograded (RRS) after low temperature storage (4°C). The retrogradation behaviour of RRS was changed to low retrogradation percentage and low retrogradation rate. The retrogradation resulted in a high compact morphology. The melt enthalpy change and percentage of retrogradation of RRS was 3.68J/g and 37.7%, respectively, compared to those of NRS (9.75J/g, 100%). The retrogradation percentage for RRS was low during storage as shown as a low retrogradation rate (0.21d−1) and a high Avrami exponent (0.89). The pattern of rice starch changed from A-type to amorphous and B-type. Both the relative crystallinity of RRS (12.7%) by the X-ray diffractograms and the ratio of the band height (0.63) in the FTIR spectra were low. The analysis of retrogradation structure and short-range molecular order further confirmed the retrogradation behaviour of rice starch after IECT treatment.

Agricultural waste as household fuel: Techno-economic assessment of a new rice-husk cookstove for developing countries

In many rural contexts of the developing world, agricultural residues and the organic fraction of waste are often burned in open-air to clear the lands or just to dispose them. This is a common practice which generates uncontrolled emissions, while wasting a potential energy resource. This is the case of rice husk in the Logone Valley (Chad/Cameroon). In such a context household energy supply is a further critical issue. Modern liquid fuel use is limited and traditional solid fuels (mainly wood) are used for daily cooking in rudimentary devices like 3-stone fires, resulting in low efficiency fuel use, huge health impacts, increasing exploitation stress for the local natural resources. Rice husk may be an alternative fuel to wood for household energy supply. In order to recover such a biomass, the authors are testing a proper stove with an original design. Its lay-out (featuring a metal-net basket to contain the fuel and a chimney to force a natural air draft) allows a mix of combustion/gasification of the biomass occurring in a completely burning fire, appropriate for cooking tasks. According to results obtained with rigorous test protocols (Water Boiling Test), different lay-outs have been designed to improve the performance of the stove. Technical and economic issues have been addressed in the development of such a model; building materials have been chosen in order to guarantee a cost as low as possible, using locally available items. The feasibility of the introduction of the stove in the studied context was assessed through an economic model that keeps into account not only the technology and fuel costs, but also the energy performance. According to the model, the threshold for the trade-off of the stove is the use of rice husk to cover 10–15% of the household energy needs both with traditional fireplaces or with improved efficiency cookstoves. The use of the technology proposed in combination with improved woodstove would provide householders with an appropriate and convenient cooking technology portfolio, increasing the opportunities of choice of the preferred energy system for the user and allowing significant savings for the family budget (up to 50% of the total annual cooking energy expenditure). The proposed model may be used also as a tool for the evaluation of the affordability or for the comparison of different cooking technologies also in other similar contexts, given their specific techno-economic parameter values.

Effects of twin-screw extrusion on soluble dietary fibre and physicochemical properties of soybean residue

Extrusion cooking technology was applied for soluble dietary fibre extraction from soybean residue. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimise the effects of extrusion parameters, namely extrusion temperature (90–130°C), feed moisture (25–35%) and screw speed (160–200rpm) on the content of soluble dietary fibre. According to the regression coefficients significance of the quadratic polynomial model, the optimum extrusion parameters were as follows: extrusion temperature, 115°C; feed moisture, 31%; and screw speed, 180rpm. Under these conditions, the soluble dietary fibre content of soybean residue could reach to 12.65% which increased 10.60% compared with the unextruded soybean residue. In addition, the dietary fibre in extrude soybean residue had higher water retention capacity, oil retention capacity and swelling capacity than those of dietary fibre in unextruded soybean residue.

Clean fuel-saving technology adoption in urban Ethiopia

The heavy dependence and inefficient utilization of biomass resources have contributed to the depletion of forest resources in Ethiopia, while the use of traditional cooking technology has also been linked to indoor air pollution and poor health. In response, the government and other institutions have pushed for the adoption of new cooking technologies, with limited success. This research examines the reasons underpinning the lack of widespread adoption, via duration analysis, correlating the speed of adoption of Mirte and Lakech cook stoves – two examples of new cooking technologies – in urban Ethiopia to socioeconomic factors. According to the duration analysis, adoption rates have steadily increased over time, while economic factors, such as product price, household income and household wealth, are, for the most part, important determinants of adoption behavior. There is also evidence that the availability of substitute technologies tends to hinder adoption, and that there are large regional differences in adoption rates, suggesting the need for a more detailed regional analysis of adoption decisions.