Microwave Applications in Food Processing: An Overview

In the recent years, the industrial applications of microwaves have been popular all over the world. Microwave heating has been applied in a wide range in the food processing such as cooking, blanching, drying, thawing, tempering, baking, pasteurization and sterilization. Microwave energy has many advantages than conventional heating. Thepresent review aimed to investigate the heating of microwave and its applications in the field of food processing. Furthermore, focus on the advantages and disadvantages of microwave heating and comparison between the traditional heating methods and the heating using the microwave energy on the quality of the food products will be also highlighted. The advantages of pasteurization and sterilization of fresh juices,food fluids and other food products and their ability to exhibit inhibition for the most microorganisms at lower temperatures than the usual heating methods have been discussed. Also, using the microwave heat in drying food products suchas microwave assisted air drying,freeze drying followed by microwave, vacuum drying combined by microwave and using drying by microwave combined with the conventional drying methods were reviewed.