In-situ Single Mode Dielectric Measurements of microwaveable snack pellets

Experiments show that the dielectric properties of the starch pellets change significantly during heating, expansion and subsequent drying. The dielectric properties increase with increasing temperature up to the moment that the pellet starts expanding. Subsequently, the power absorption shows a sudden decline, which is mainly due to the sudden change in porosity. Addition of salt (2.5%) to the starch pellet composition results in a slight decrease of the dielectric constant and loss factor, as it apparently lowers the effective mobility of the dipoles. The dielectric properties as function of temperature and moisture content were fitted with a polynomial model. The strong effect of porosity for the dielectric properties of the expanded snack is well predicted with the effective medium mixing rule.