1 July 2007 New wave spices Microwave sensing can really spice
up moisture content measurements By T. Jayanthy and P.E.
Sankaranarayanan Cardamom is the queen of spices in India and is
one of the most valued spices in the world. Moisture measurement
is a critical factor affecting the physical and chemical
properties related to quality, harvest time, and the potential
for safe storage of this valuable food product. It is also an
important factor in determining market price because the dry
matter of spice has more value than the water it contains.
Manufacturers have considered microwave techniques for a long
time for moisture sensing in food processing and agriculture-
related industries. They are suitable for online real-time
monitoring and control. It is possible to determine moisture
content of spices such as cardamom directly from microwave
dielectric properties by analyzing dielectric properties of wet
samples. When exposed to microwave radiation, dielectric
materials in food items polarize under the action