Water as the determinant of food engineering properties. A review

Water affects safety, stability, quality and physical properties of food. The influence of water on physical properties of food is dependent on the state of water in food. The state, expressed as water activity, is briefly discussed in the paper. Further, the influence of water on such physical properties as theological, thermal, mass transfer, electrical, optical and acoustic is presented in details. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.