The pore size distribution is shown in Figs. 4a–4d and
was obtained by image analysis of the banana morphology.
The illustrated pore size distributions were obtained at a
puffing temperature of 160C. In addition, they were determined
from the whole cross-sectional area of the banana
samples. Considering the blanching effect, the unblanched
samples of both thicknesses had a relatively larger number
of pores throughout the pore diameters than the blanched
samples. The pore size in range of 4–5mm did not appear
for the blanched samples of either thickness. The void area
fractions of the unblanched samples of both thicknesses
were 68.7 and 41.5%, respectively. From these results, the
thicker sample had a higher void area fraction than the
thinner sample. In the blanched samples, the void area
was significantly smaller compared to unblanched samples;
the void area fractions for the 3.5-mm- and 2.5-mm-thick
samples were 38.7 and 39.1%, respectively.