Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Effect of microwave and traditional cooking on the quality of food products

15^th International Conference on Food Processing & Technology

October 27-29, 2016 Rome, Italy

Para Dholakia and Savitri Gupta

University of Delhi, India

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Food Process Technol

Abstract:

Microwave cooking has emerged as a popular cooking method in past few years. Data on nutritive value along with the sensory characteristics of food cooked in microwave ovens in relation to traditional methods is insufficient. A study was planned to compare the nutrient composition and sensory characteristics of foods cooked by microwave cooking and traditional cooking. Fifteen dishes were selected from different food groups based on a survey done on a small population (N=200). The dishes were prepared by both traditional as well as microwave cooking and analyzed for sensory characteristics and proximate composition using standard procedures. There was no significant (p<0.05) difference in fat content and ash content. Nine dishes showed significantly higher retention of vitamin C in microwave cooked foods as compared to traditionally cooked food. Mineral content remained same in both the methods. Thus both the techniques showed similar effects on nutritive value except Vitamin C. Sensory attributes like appearance(browning of crust), texture and flavor were better in traditionally baked, roasted and boiled foods than in microwave cooked ones, however, color of greens did not differ significantly between the two methods. This preliminary study helped to draw the conclusion that both the techniques didn�??t differ in affecting the nutritive value except vitamin C whereas, sensory characteristics were obtained better with traditional cooking. The study can be extended further to compare the effect of microwave and traditional cooking on vitamin B complex group, fat soluble vitamins, biological value and protein efficiency ratio.

Biography :

Para Dholakia is an Assistant Professor in Food Technology for past 13 years. She has done MSc in Food and Nutrition after graduation in Food Technology and currently pursuing PhD from University of Delhi. She has guided MSc dissertations and worked as Nutrition Advisor with industry. She is currently working on a project on development of mobile application to track nutritional intake of people. She has attended various national and international conferences and published papers. She has been the secretary of Association of Food Scientists and Technologists of India, Delhi.

Email: para.foods@gmail.com