Caviar, an expensive delicacy that is known worldwide, is one of the most important Iran’s exports. Ninety percent of the world caviar is supported from Caspian sea. In addition to the traditional method (using salt and preservative with low temperature), there are various methods for caviar processing such as pasteurization. Literature review shows that there is a few published works on pasteurized caviar. Aim of this research was the study of heat transfer during caviar pasteurization. At the first part of this study, the quality factors (firmness and color) and thermophysical properties of caviar samples were determined after thermal processing at 55, 60, 65,70, and 75°C for 120, 90, 70, 50 and 40 minutes, respectively. Back extrusion test was used for firmness measurement using Instron. Color (L, a, b, C and ?E) of samples was evaluated with image processing method. Firmness of caviars follows from a zero order kinetic reaction. C and yellow (b) color evolutions of caviar surface follow from a first order reaction while their Green (a), lightness (L) and ?E follow from a zero order reaction. The kinetic temperature dependence of these reactions was modeled by the Arrhenius equation. Thermal conductivity was modelled by the Krisher model. At the second and main part of the study, the modelling of the heat transfer has been applied to a cylinder geometry using the finite difference method in MATLAB software. Mathematical simulation is helpful in designing new or in improving existing processing systems or for their operation control. The predicted profiles of temperature were validated by comparison with the experiment. The comparison criteria used to evaluate goodness of fit, namely the coefficient of correlation ( r ) and the root mean square error ( RMSE ). High correlation between experimental result and model prediction was observed that shows the model is able to predict temperature profiles in different part of caviar cans. Keywords : Caviar; Color; Heat transfer; Pasteurization ; Simulation; Texture; Thermal processing; Thermophysical properties .
