International Journal of Food Engineering 3-D Imaging of Deep-Fat Fried Chicken Nuggets Breading Coating Using X-Ray Micro-CT

Food coatings are used to add value to deep-fat fried foods and to control heat and mass transfer during frying. They impart special characteristics such as crispiness and flavor to fried products while they also form a barrier to moisture and fat transfer during frying. Development of structure during frying plays an important role in defining the performance of batter/bread coatings. Food structural properties such as porosity have been associated with fat uptake in fried foods. A good understanding of the microstructural properties is necessary in order to produce high quality fried foods. X-ray micro-computed tomography (X-ray micro-CT) is a unique technique for imaging food non-invasively, requiring no or minimal sample preparation and 3-D rendition of high resolution images. The technique is capable of providing morphological details under a natural environment, which gives some advantages over the conventional imaging techniques such as microscopy. Study on chicken nuggets provided useful information relating frying conditions to structural changes in the breading-batter coating using X-ray micro-CT technique. Chicken nuggets were fried at 180°C for different frying durations after which the products were scanned using X-ray micro-CT. Images were reconstructed and analyzed, and 2-D and 3-D renditions of the coating images confirmed porosity changes with frying time. Numerical slicing of the 3-D images with image analysis software showed the degree of interconnectivity of pores, pore shape and pore count under different conditions of frying. The effect of frying time on microstructural parameters is significant. X-ray micro-CT shows great prospect in characterizing microstructural properties of foods especially coated fried products. This technique could be used in optimizing mass transfer during deep-fat frying by providing quantitative information on structural properties such as porosity, pore size distribution and pore connectivity.

[1]  R. Ketcham,et al.  Acquisition, optimization and interpretation of X-ray computed tomographic imagery: applications to the geosciences , 2001 .

[2]  N. Otsu.  A threshold selection method from gray level histograms , 1979 .

[3]  Gerard van Dalen,et al.  3-D Imaging of Foods Using X-Ray Microtomography , 2003 .

[4]  T. W. Ridler,et al.  Picture thresholding using an iterative selection method. , 1978 .

[5]  F. Pedreschi,et al.  Effect of pre-drying on texture and oil uptake of potato chips , 2005 .

[6]  B. Farkas,et al.  Physical Properties of Air‐Dried and Freeze‐Dried Chicken White Meat , 1991 .

[7]  Sasov,et al.  Desktop X‐ray microscopy and microtomography , 1998, Journal of microscopy.

[8]  Sharmila Majumdar,et al.  MicroCT evaluation of normal and osteoarthritic bone structure in human knee specimens , 2003, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[9]  Syed S. H. Rizvi,et al.  Use of non-invasive X-ray microtomography for characterizing microstructure of extruded biopolymer foams , 2005 .

[10]  L. Feldkamp,et al.  Practical cone-beam algorithm , 1984 .

[11]  P. Mallikarjunan,et al.  THE EFFECT OF EDIBLE FILM ON OIL UPTAKE AND MOISTURE RETENTION OF A DEEP‐FAT FRIED POULTRY PRODUCT , 1997 .

[12]  LABORATORY SYSTEM FOR X-RAY NANOTOMOGRAPHY , 2006 .

[13]  M. Ngadi,et al.  Porosity and pore size distribution in cooked meat patties containing soy protein , 2001 .

[14]  Zacharias B. Maroulis,et al.  Effect of osmotic dedydration pretreatment on quality of french fries , 2001 .

[15]  K. Taiwo,et al.  Effects of pre-treatments on the shrinkage and textural properties of fried sweet potatoes , 2007 .

[16]  A. Sasov,et al.  Application of Nano-CT and High-Resolution Micro-CT to Study Bone Quality and Ultrastructure, Scaffold Biomaterials and Vascular Networks , 2007 .

[17]  José Miguel Aguilera,et al.  Why food microstructure , 2005 .

[18]  Lucas J. van Vliet,et al.  3D IMAGING AND ANALYSIS OF POROUS CEREAL PRODUCTS USING X-RAY MICROTOMOGRAPHY , 2007 .

[19]  A. Voragen,et al.  Effect of pre-drying and par-frying conditions on the crispness of French fries , 2007 .

[20]  M Vogel,et al.  Trabecular bone pattern factor--a new parameter for simple quantification of bone microarchitecture. , 1992, Bone.

[21]  M. Ngadi,et al.  Kinetics of mass transfer in microwave precooked and deep-fat fried chicken nuggets , 2009 .

[22]  Zacharias B. Maroulis,et al.  Effect of pre-drying on quality of french fries , 2001 .

[23]  I. Saguy,et al.  Deep-fat fried potato product oil uptake as affected by crust physical properties , 1995 .

[24]  Michael Ngadi,et al.  Pore Development and Moisture Transfer in Chicken Meat during Deep-Fat Frying , 2005 .

[25]  M. Ngadi,et al.  Microstructural Changes During Frying of Foods , 2008 .

[26]  K. S. Lim,et al.  X-ray micro-computed tomography of cellular food products , 2004 .

[27]  S. Dover,et al.  Computed tomography part II: The practical use of a single source and detector , 1994 .

[28]  A Entwistle,et al.  Moderated histogram equalization, an automatic means of enhancing the contrast in digital light micrographs reversibly , 2004, Journal of microscopy.

[29]  John C. Russ.  Image analysis of food microstructure , 2004 .

[30]  E. Barcelon,et al.  X-RAY CT IMAGING AND QUALITY DETECTION OF PEACH AT DIFFERENT PHYSIOLOGICAL MATURITY , 1999 .

[31]  M. Mellema.  Mechanism and reduction of fat uptake in deep-fat fried foods , 2003 .

[32]  P. Falcone,et al.  A novel approach to the study of bread porous structure: Phase-contrast X-ray microtomography , 2004 .