Microwave ovens are mainly used for heating and reheating of foods;
however, trends show that they are used increasingly also for cooking
and defrosting.
Industrial scale microwave processing units have been developed for
drying, precooking of meat, pasteurization of ready meals, and tempering
of meat and fish. Microwave processing is generally characterized by
uniform heating on a macroscopic scale and rapid heating rates, as
opposed to conventional processing.
Microwave heating talks place throughout the volume of the product. This
volumetric heat delivery leads to a much higher rate of heating than
conventional methods, limited by the heat penetration from the heated
surface to the bulk of the material.
Microwave processing is used in various industrial application:
*Pasteurization of liquid and viscous in the food industry
*Sterilization of liquid products on food/pharmaceutical sector
*Drying of casings in sausage production
*Heating of minced meat mixtures after the extruder for flashing
*Preheating of viscous products before spray dryers or vacuum dryers
Industrial microwave