Infrared treatment influence on the buckwheat groats structural and mechanical properties

One of the most popular grain crops is buckwheat. Buckwheat and its processed products have high digestibility, high nutritional value and low glycemic index, which is beneficial for people with diabetes mellitus types I and II. Buckwheat groats – a processed buckwheat product – are the second most popular on the market after rice. Based on the results of the studies, a technology for infrared processing of buckwheat has been developed. The presence of two areas of infrared radiation impact on buckwheat has been confirmed: the area of thermal destruction (steam formation) and the area of drying, when the water inside the product diffuses to the surface in the form of liquid and evaporates from the surface. The optimal parameters for intensive infrared processing of buckwheat have been established: radiant flux power of 32–34 kW/m², humidity of 14%, temperature of 135–140 °C; processing time of 35–40 s. It was found that the radiant flux density during IR treatment should not exceed 35 kW/m² to avoid burning of the cereal surface and deterioration of consumer qualities. It was found that the bulk density of buckwheat during IR treatment decreases by 1.6 times compared to untreated cereals. It was found that during infrared heat treatment of buckwheat, moisture evaporates, and its humidity decreases to 7.5–8.0%, which allows classifying it as a long-term storage product. It was found that during infrared treatment according to the developed method, the amount of extractive substances in buckwheat groats increases by 4 times.