Effect of processing parameters on the pulsed-spouted microwave vacuum drying of puffed salted duck egg white/starch products

Abstract

A puffed food using salted duck egg white and starch as ingredients was produced by using a novel pulsed-spouted microwave vacuum drying (PSMVD) technique. In this study, three types of samples (ratios of salted duck egg white to starch 1:10, 3:10, and 5:10) were prepared and the moisture content of these samples was dehydrated to about 12% in a PSMVD dryer, then the samples were under different microwave powers (1.34 kW, 2.01 kW, and 2.68 kW) for puffing. The product volume expansion ratio, textural crispness (breaking forces), color parameters (L*, a* and b*), and sensory scores were determined. It was observed that microwave power and different ratios of salted duck egg white to starch had a significant effect on the expansion effect of the samples. The results indicated that the best product quality was obtained under the ratio of salted duck egg white to starch at 3:10 and microwave power at 2.01 kW.