Reconstruction of food microstructure via statistical correlation functions. The use of lineal-path distribution functions

• Statistical correlation functions were used to reconstruct bread microstructure by applying an annealing method.
• Lineal-path distribution function (LPF) in different directions were used to reconstruct 2D images of bread.
• The reconstruction method is a powerful tool for reconstruction and its use could be extended for several foods.
• Although LPF of real and reconstructed images perfectly match, visually speaking some deviation were detected.

The reconstruction of microstructure of biological and synthetic materials is of great importance for theoretical and practical application. The obtaining of this purpose through limited statistical information is a challenge at which some pioneering researchers are focusing their efforts. For the first time, a reconstruction method was used to rebuild bread microstructure by using the information of lineal-path distribution function (LPF). The method was a powerful tool to reconstruct bread microstructure; a perfect match between lineal-path function of reference and reconstructed images were obtained. The reconstructed images progressively improve, compared to the reference, increasing the number of LPFs used during reconstruction. The use of LPFs in different direction did not allowed to obtain a perfect match between the bread and the reconstructed images because, LPF did not contain sufficient microstructure information however, the essential features of bread were captured proving the possibility to reconstruct food microstructure.