Center for Advanced Research in Drying » Microstructural Characterization of Foodstuffs as a Function of Drying Parameters

Overview

Food and biomaterials undergo quality changes during processing. The solid walls and porous networks change from micro to macroscales, which are closely related to the mechanical and structural properties of food materials. As several microstructural transformations occur below 100 µm, nanoindentation can be used for determining the micromechanical properties of food materials on a small scale. This project involves using nanoindentation for studying the solid wall properties of cookies at the microscale during baking for different drying parameters such as time and temperature. Identifying the effect of drying parameters on micro-mechanical properties and viscoelasticity in wheat-based food materials will allow reducing crack/powder formation and predicting the food’s textural attributes.