INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD PROPERTIES, vol.20, 2017 (SCI-Expanded)
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive imaging technique that can visualise samples' interior by using the signal coming from mobile protons. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of oil content and peanut/raisin addition on cake quality and to illustrate the power of MRI in analysis of moisture and oil distribution. For this purpose, MR images were acquired with a spin echo sequence and relaxation times T-1 and T-2, and moisture content and firmness of cakes were measured. High oil cakes (HOC) had higher moisture content and lower firmness than low oil cakes (LOC). However, addition of raisin/peanut did not affect the firmness of cakes significantly. In MR images, HOC cake crumb, owing to its higher oil content, displayed larger signal intensities. Signal acquired from different slices demonstrated an increase in moisture content from crust to centre of the cakes. Peanut and raisin signals were suppressed in fat and water suppression sequences, respectively. Significant correlation between transverse relaxation time (T-2a) and oil content (R-2 = 0.99) was found. Moreover, longitudinal relaxation time (T-1) was found to be strongly correlated with moisture content (R-2 = 0.99). The results demonstrated MRI's power as an accurate and non-invasive analysis method in baking.