Steaming is a common practice in both household and industrial food processing; however, the process of
heat transfer during steaming has not been fully explored. In this study, mathematical models that consider
coupled energy, water and vapor transport were developed, and were solved using finite element
software (COMSOL Multiphysics) for their application to the steam reheating of non-porous starch gel
radish cake and steamed buns with porous matrices. Our simulation results indicated that the reheating
of non-porous starch gel is a heat conduction process. During the reheating of the porous starch matrix,
the infusion of condensate and evaporation–condensation mechanism contribute to steep sigmoidshaped
temperature profiles that are different from those of normal heat conduction. The validity of
our mathematical model is corroborated by our experimental work of the steam reheating of samples
with and without PE film wraps in a rice cooker. It shows a good agreement between the simulation
and experimental results in terms of temperature and increased moisture. The implications of these models
can provide a basis for future elucidation of more complicated food steaming processes.