Developing radio frequency (RF) heating protocol in packed tofu processing by computer simulation.

Packed tofu was produced by reheating the mixture of preheated soymilk and coagulant in a sealed container. This study aimed to replace the conventional heating method with RF heating during the reheating of soymilk for packed tofu production. In this study, dielectric properties (DPs), thermal properties (TPs), and rheological properties of soymilk were determined. A mathematical model was developed to simulate the RF heating process of soymilk to determine the appropriate packaging geometry. Water holding capacity (WHC), texture analysis, color measurement, and microstructure observation were performed to evaluate the quality of RF-heated packed tofu. Results showed that soymilk added with Glucono-Delta-Lactone (GDL) coagulated at the temperature above 60 °C, and the loss factor (ε″) was slightly reduced when soymilk was converted to tofu at coagulation temperature. Based on the simulation results, the cylindrical vessel (φ50 mm × 100 mm) was chosen as the soymilk container for desired heating rate (5.9 °C/min) and uniformity (λ = 0.0065, 0.0069, 0.0016 for top, middle, and bottom layers). The texture analysis revealed that the hardness and chewiness of packed tofu prepared by RF heating were enhanced (maximum 1.36 times and 1.21 times) compared with commercial packed tofu, while the springiness were not significantly changed. Furthermore, the denser network structure was observed inside RF-heated packed tofu by SEM. These results indicated that packed tofu prepared by RF heating was of higher gel strength and sensory quality. RF heating has the potential to be applied in packed tofu production.

The effect of radio frequency heating on the inactivation and structure of horseradish peroxidase.

The effects of radio frequency (RF) heating on horseradish peroxidase (HRP) activity and its structure were investigated in this paper. The HRP was heated to 50 °C, 70 °C and 90 °C at different electrode gaps (100, 110 and 120 mm). The relative enzyme activity was 105.33 %-113.73 % at 50 °C, 91.11 %-93.05 % at 70 °C and 47.05 %-68.17 % at 90 °C. Ultraviolet-visible, circular dichroism and fluorescence spectra were used to monitor the variation in secondary and tertiary structure. The results showed that RF heating at the electrode gaps of 120 mm contributed to more severe enzyme inactivation and conformational destruction, which can be explained by the changes in Soret band, secondary structure content and tryptophan fluorescence intensity. This study revealed that enzyme inactivation by RF heating was associated with loss of helical structure, unfolding of enzyme protein and ejection of heme group.

Effects of radio-frequency energy on peroxidase inactivation and physiochemical properties of stem lettuce and the underlying cell-morphology mechanism.

This paper investigated the effects of radio-frequency (RF) energy and conventional hot-water blanching (95 °C for 2 min) on the peroxidase (POD) activity, physiochemical properties, and changes in the cellular morphology of stem lettuce. The relative residual POD activity significantly decreased (P < 0.05) from 66.03% to 6.46% with increased RF heating temperature (65 °C-85 °C). The weight loss (3.06%-7.64%), color, texture, relative electrolyte leakage (23.45%-67.90%), and residual vitamin C content (72.22%-16.67%) significantly changed (P < 0.05) with increased RF heating temperature (65 °C-85 °C). Micrographs indicated that the changes in physiochemical property can be attributed to the destruction of cell membranes, loss of cell turgor, reduced rigidity of cell walls, and loose adhesion between adjacent cells. Samples treated by RF heating at 75 °C showed lesser cell damage and better nutrient retention than those treated by hot-water blanching at a similar level of POD inactivation.