Abstract
When a starchy food such as a rice grain or a strand of noodle is
boiled, a high moisture region is generated at the surface spreading
inward, producing a low moisture core. The characteristic features
of the change of moisture profile were recently observed by nuclear
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the profile cannot be
described by any existing mathematical model based on the principle
that water molecules are driven by the gradient of moisture content.
In this paper, a new mathematical model is proposed using a new concept,
water demand (WD). In this model, migration of water is driven by
the gradient of WD, which is defined as the difference between the
ceiling moisture content and the existing moisture content. This
model is demonstrated to have a potential to describe the characteristic
features of the change of moisture profile in starchy food during
boiling. � 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd.
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