The purpose of blanching

Blanching cleanse the products. It shrinks the product, providing for a better fill of the container and removing gases, thus allowing better vacuum after sealing.

Commercial blanching conditions typically involve heating at 95-100 °C for 3 to 10 minutes, depending on the type and size of material to be blanched.

The blanching process also destroys enzymes in the food that otherwise might react during the initial heating in the retort and produce undesirable flavors or discoloration or cause loss of vitamin C.

When very high-temperature, very short-time methods of heat processing are used, enzymes might not be inactivate, which would cause development of off-flavors in the food. This can be prevented by blanching. The conditions of blanching are chosen so as to ensure inactivation of the enzymes responsible for oxidation while minimizing loss of sensory quality and nutrients.

Blanching tends to fix the natural color of vegetables and it provides a clearer brine in the canned products.

Good canning practice demands a high level of hoppers and fillers handling vegetables hot from blanching. This is essential in order to prevent the undesirable build up of thermophilic bacteria.
The purpose of blanching

Oats Kilning Process

The fat content of oats is high and the grain contains an active lipase. Lipase serves no useful purpose in milled oats products d if present, it would act on the fat to release undesirable free fatty acids, which result in the development of hydrolytic activity.

Unless lipase is inactivated, this process will occur when groats is disrupted by flaking or milling and the lipase comes into contact with the oil.

When oats are to be used as human food their storage becomes a problem because of the quick and easy way in which the oil develops rancidity.

For this reason oats for human consumption are usually kilned or semi-roasted in order to destroy the enzymes.

Kilning process is carried out in a radiator kiln in which the oats are treated with steam and heat.

Rancidity normally arises from lipase activity and successful kilning therefore, implies inactivation of the lipase.

Inactivation of lipase is also important to help maintain adequate flavor in the stored products.
Oats Kilning Process