Ferruh Erdogdu

Velocity and temperature field characteristics of water and air during natural convection heating in cans.

Presence of headspace during canning is required since an adequate amount allows forming vacuum during the process. Sealing technology may not totally eliminate all entrapped gases, and headspace might affect heat transfer. Not much attention has been given to solve this problem in computational studies, and cans, for example, were mostly assumed to be fully filled with product. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine velocity and temperature evolution of water and air in cans during heating to evaluate the relevance of headspace in the transport mechanism. For this purpose, canned water samples with a certain headspace were used, and required governing continuity, energy, and momentum equations were solved using a finite volume approach coupled with a volume of fluid element model. Simulation results correlated well with experimental results validating faster heating effects of headspace rather than insulation effects as reported in the literature. The organized velocity motions along the air-water interface were also shown. Practical Application: Canning is a universal and economic method for processing of food products, and presence of adequate headspace is required to form vacuum during sealing of the cans. Since sealing technology may not totally eliminate the entrapped gases, mainly air, headspace might affect heating rates in cans. This study demonstrated the increased heating rates in the presence of headspace in contrast with some studies in the literature. By applying the effect of headspace, required processing time for thermally processed foods can be reduced leading to more rapid processes and lower energy consumptions.

Numerical Evaluation of Spherical Geometry Approximation for Heating and Cooling of Irregular Shaped Food Products

UNLABELLED Irregular shapes of food products add difficulties in modeling of food processes, and using actual geometries might be in expense of computing time without offering any advantages in heating and cooling processes. In this study, a three-dimensional scanner was used to obtain geometrical description of strawberry, pear, and potato, and cooling-heating simulations were carried out in a computational heat transfer program. Then, spherical assumption was applied to compare center and volume average temperature changes using volume to surface area ratios of these samples to define their characteristic length. In addition, spherical assumption for a finite cylinder and a cube was also applied to demonstrate the effect of sphericity. Geometries with sphericity values above 0.9 were determined to hold the spherical assumption. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Irregular shapes of food products add difficulties in modeling of heating and cooling processes of food products. In addition, using actual geometries are in expense of computational time without offering any advantages. Hence, spherical approximation for irregular geometries was demonstrated under sphericity values of 0.9. This approach might help in developing better heating and cooling processes.

Mathematical Modeling for Virtualization in Food Processing

The design strategy of a food process must be aimed to provide food safety while retaining optimal organoleptic and nutritional characteristics and, possibly, to optimize the energy consumption. As a matter of fact, it represents a challenge in food process engineering. In this framework, it is essential to determine the interactions among transport phenomena (mass, heat, and momentum) and any other relevant physics for further optimal design and for driving possible innovation. In other technological sectors (like automotive or aerospace industries), virtualization and mathematical modeling are standard methods used for optimal design, while in food process engineering the contribution of such tools has not been fully exploited. Since virtualization represents a new and sophisticated strategic tool to design and to innovate a process, the objective of this review was to introduce virtualization and mathematical modeling in the food processing industry. For this purpose, motivation and needs for virtualization in food processing were focused, mathematical modeling background and various approaches for modeling were introduced, and solution methods and required initial–boundary conditions with thermal-physical properties were outlined. Also complexity, computational cost, and model validation techniques were critically discussed. Virtualization and mathematical modeling dominate the major requirements to design, optimize, and innovate food processing with their vast opportunities and potentials and they will become a cornerstone of utmost importance to food engineering domain.

Functional and Nutritional Properties of Some Turkish Traditional Foods

Turkey is very rich in terms of traditional foods because it has been affected by various cultures for many years. Turkey has various types of traditional foods which are rich in their phenolic compounds, vitamins, minerals, essential oils, etc. This chapter highlights the functional and nutritional properties of some examples of meat-based, dairy-based, legume-based, vegetable- and fruit-based Turkish traditional foods.

Traditional Foods in Turkey: General and Consumer Aspects

Culture has a significant role in shaping societies, and each culture has specific traditions formed during long periods. Traditions also include eating habits and reflect an expression of culture. Certain food ingredients and food preparation methods being used and transmitted from one generation to the next one are called “traditional foods”, and Turkey is a very rich country in this respect due to the fact that the traditional Turkish cuisine has been influenced by many different cultures like Persian, Hittites and Byzantines. This chapter highlights traditional foods, consumer aspects of Turkish traditional foods, general aspects of traditional foods and innovation in traditional foods.