Pre-fried microwaveable foods are popular with many consumers because of the simplicity and speed of their preparation. However, these foods often lose their desirable crispiness after microwaving, which reduces their sensory quality and consumer acceptance. In this study, we prepared and characterized calcium-starch (CA-S) chelates and then investigated their impact on crispness retention during the microwaving of a model food (chicken nuggets). As expected, the amount of calcium bound by the CA-S chelates increased as the calcium concentration was raised. Multi-scale structural analysis of the CA-S chelates showed that calcium binding disrupted the hierarchical structure of the starch. During gelatinization, CA-S chelates exhibited a higher peak viscosity than regular starch. Adding the CA-S chelates to batter of chicken nuggets significantly improved their crispness after microwaving, without adversely affecting their color, taste, and other sensory attributes. Chicken nuggets containing 15% CA-S chelates had the highest crispness, with the value being almost 50% greater than the control group. The coating and microwave heating properties of the batter were also improved by adding the CA-S chelates. For instance, incorporating 25% CA-S chelates into the batter increased the coating “pick-up”, dielectric constant, and dielectric loss constant values by around 55%, 21%, and 20%, respectively. This increase in dielectric properties is beneficial because it enhances heat transfer to the batter during microwaving, thereby increasing the crispiness of the chicken nuggets.
Han Tan,Dandan Huang,Yu Zhang,Yuanli Luo,Dejun Liu,Xiaoyong Chen,Huayi Suo
Low-salt pickled vegetables are in line with a healthier diet, yet ensuring consistent quality of such products is challenging. In this study, low-salt tuber mustard pickles fermented with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LPP95 in the presence of chitosan and inulin were analyzed over a 30-day period, and quality changes were evaluated. Total acid productions along with high bacterial counts (10 6 CFU/mL) were observed in the initial 20 days during indoor storage temperature, in which the reduced fiber aperture was found significantly lead to an increase in crispness (16.94 ± 1.87 N) and the maintenance of a low nitrate content (1.23 ± 0.01 mg/kg). Moreover, the combined pickling treatment resulted in higher malic acid content, lower tartaric acid content, and a decrease in the content of bitter amino acids (e.g., isoleucine and leucine), thus leading to an increase in the proportion of sweet amino acids. Additionally, combined pickling led to the production of unique volatile flavor compounds, especially the distinct spicy flavor compounds isothiocyanates. Moreover, the combined pickling treatment resulted in an increase in the abundance of Lactiplantibacillus and promoted microbial diversity within the fermentation system. Thus, the synergistic effect among chitosan, inulin, and L. plantarum LPP95 significantly enhanced the quality of pickles. The study offers a promising strategy to standardize the quality of low-salt fermented vegetables.
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）