Preparing Vegetables for Freeze-Drying
Author: Taylor Clary | Major: Food Science | Semester: Spring & Summer 2022
My name is Taylor Clary. I will be a senior in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. My major is Food Science, and I also have a minor in Nutrition. For my project, I worked under Dr. Ali Ubeyitogullari in the Department of Food Science. I have been working on my project during the Spring and Summer semesters of 2022. This research will continue into Fall 2022.
Each year, many crops, particularly vegetables, are thrown away because they are not visually appealing. Therefore, the objective of this research is to develop healthy snacks from these “ugly” vegetables using a 3D food printing approach to reduce food loss. The advancement of 3D Food Printing using “ugly” freeze-dried produce could be an extremely important methodology for reducing food loss at the farm level.
One of the main reasons I felt a calling towards Food Science was sustainability efforts specifically for food. The food industry produces a large amount of waste during every step of the process, and I felt that the loss at the farm was a step in the process that faced a lot less research than other areas. Dr. Ali was assigned to me as my faculty advisor. Upon a tour of his lab and a discussion of potential usages for the 3D Food Printers in his lab, we developed the idea of converting these imperfect vegetables into shelf-stable healthy snacks using a 3D printing approach.
In this project, an extrusion-based 3D food printer is being utilized. The extrusion technique runs using a robotic arm that moves along a surface with a cylindrical cartridge that dispenses the food paste. There are certain parameters that must be considered when developing the food paste, including the capability of the food paste to be extruded through the nozzle, the ability for the food paste to have a sufficient viscosity for the layers to stack without defects, and the resolution of the final product due to stability and definition of the food paste. Determining a formulation that met these parameters was a time-consuming challenge that required patience and repetition.
In this project, we specifically focused on broccoli and carrot-based snack formulations. We freeze-dried broccoli and carrots to create shelf-stable powders for 3D food printing. These powders are stable for many years so that they can potentially be used for food production in Space.
The rheological features of the printed snacks are being recorded to determine parameters for 3D-printability. The textural and color features of the printed snacks before and after baking will be recorded to compare the formulations and determine the acceptable range.
Dr. Ali was essential in providing research on extrusion-based 3D printers and best practices for developing a formulation. In the lab, I was also assisted by Dr. Safoura Ahmadzadeh in developing a formula.
Completing this honors research project has given me an insight on what it is like to work in a research lab. I found that when I was placed into an industry position, I felt more comfortable and knowledgable about the lab equipment that I encountered. Additionally, it has introduced me to novel food processing technologies that I believe may be useful to me in my future career.
When I graduate this spring, I will be entering the food industry as a Quality Assurance Team Advisor Trainee for Schreiber Foods, Inc. I also plan to enroll in a graduate program while working in the industry.