Effects of blanching on water distribution and water status in sweet corn investigated by using MRI and NMR

To investigate the reason for weight loss and the change of thermal property after blanching, low-field magnetic resonance imaging (LF-MRI) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were applied to determine the water distribution and water status of sweet corn, respectively. After blanching, T2 weighted imaging showed that a new part of water signal area appeared, and percentages of two components with T21 (450-750 ms) and T23 (50-70 ms) changed distinctly which was due to starch gelatinization. All these indicated that blanching changed the water distribution and water status in corn kernel. NMR shows the change of water status in sweet corn, and it can provide an effective method to study physicochemical properties during food processing.