Effects of Pellet Moisture Content on the Physical Properties of Vacuum-puffed Yukwa

The effects of pellet moisture content on physical properties (expansion ratio, density and breaking strength) of vacuum-puffed Yukwa (non-oil puffed Yukwa) were investigated in this study. The Yukwa was made from the waxy rice steeped at 25 and $30^{\circ}C$ for 3, 5 and 10 days with pellet drying times (6, 8 and 10.5 hr). As the drying time increased from 6 to 10.5 hr at $50^{\circ}C$, the highest value of pellet moisture content (29.4%) was found in the samples made from the steeped waxy rice at $25^{\circ}C$ for 5 days after 6 hr drying, while the lowest value (16.3%) was found at $25^{\circ}C$ for 3 days after 10.5 hr drying. Both redness and yellowness values of vacuum-puffed Yukwa increased as the drying time increased. The expansion ratio of Yukwa was greatly affected by drying time, ranging from 2.07 (26.8% pellet moisture content) to 7.01 (24.0% pellet moisture content). From the data, it can be concluded that the pellet moisture content had a significant influence on the physical characteristics of vacuum-puffed Yukwa. With vacuum puffing condition of 3 min heating and 2 min puffing, the pellets with about 25% moisture content showed higher expansion ratio, and lower density and breaking strength.