Effects of process parameters on texture quality of blue honeysuckle berry snack under continuous microwave puffing conditions

To improve the texture quality of blue honeysuckle berry (BHB) snack under continuous microwave puffing and obtain suitable process parameters, the effects of technology parameters, such as microwave intensity, ventilation velocity, and puffing time, on the objective indexes in terms of temperature, moisture content, expansion ratio, porosity, hardness, and brittleness of BHB snack were investigated via response surface method and pore distribution analysis. The results showed that microwave intensity and puffing time had the highest effects for the objective indexes. The formation of texture quality of snack depended on the structure and distribution of internal pores inside the product. The optimal parameters for continuous microwave of snack were obtained as the microwave intensity of 9.23 W/g, ventilation velocity of 0.76 m/s, and puffing time of 3.26 min to produce a desirable texture quality. This study may provide guidance for the industrial production development of novel snack products for berry fruits like BHB. Novelty impact statement This work investigated the puffed BHB snack under continuous microwave puffing and optimized the process parameters to achieve a desirable texture quality. Microwave intensity lower than 10 W/g achieved desired texture quality with suitable hardness and brittleness of BHB snack. The size and distribution of internal pores determined the formation of texture quality of BHB snack.