1 AIT Asian Institute of Technology

Mechanical tests for evaluating the crispness of breakfast cereals

AuthorChutanuch Hansaworakun
Call NumberAIT Thesis no.FB-05-09
Subject(s)Cereals, Prepared--Evaluation
NoteA thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development
PublisherAsian Institute of Technology
Series StatementThesis ; no. FB-05-09
AbstractBreakfast cereals are products whose crispness is considered a primary textural attribute. Loss of crispness occurs due to gain of moisture from the surrounding environment or soaking in milk or other liquid media. Though mechanical tests are used to assess the crispness of breakfast cereals there is no well-defined method for analyzing the force-deformation data. In this study, two mechanical tests, uniaxial compression test and Kramer shear test were used for evaluating the crispness of two types of dry breakfast cereals. Both cereal samples were conditioned to different moisture contents to vary the crispness levels. Detailed analysis of uniaxial compression test data revealed that the apparent compaction modulus gave high correlation with moisture content and sensory crispness for both types of breakfast cereals. The apparent compaction modulus increased with increasing moisture content and was also related to the decrease in the crispness of cereals. The shear force from Kramer shear test was also highly correlated with the moisture content and sensory crispness of wheat cereal. Shear force increased with increasing moisture and indicated a reduction in the crispness. Uniaxial compression testing was found to be a suitable technique since the apparent compaction modulus resulted in the best indicator for assessing the crispness of breakfast cereals. In case when breakfast cereals were immersed in milk, rapidly drained and compressed with an Ottawa cell, the change in peak force was adequately represented as a function of immersion time using Weibull and exponential models. The exponential model was recommended to use for predicting the crispness of cereals when immersed in milk because of its simplicity.
Year2005
Corresponding Series Added EntryAsian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. FB-05-09
TypeThesis
SchoolSchool of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD)
DepartmentDepartment of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB))
Academic Program/FoSFood Engineering and Bioprocess Technology (FB)
Chairperson(s)Jindal, Vinod Kumar;
Examination Committee(s)Athapol Noomhorm ;Rakshit, Sudip Kumar ;
Scholarship Donor(s)His Majesty The King of Thailand;
DegreeThesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2005


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