Water is ubiquitous and abundant in the environment in which foods and ingredients are processed, stored and used. Because of this widespread presence, the small size and mobility of water molecules, and the ability of water to act as both a hydrogen bond donor and acceptor, there are numerous opportunities for water to interact with food solids. There are five major mechanisms of water-solid interaction (Figure 1). These can be divided into three categories: surface interactions (adsorption), condensed water (capillary condensation and deliquescence) and internalized water (crystal hydrate formation and absorption into the bulk of amorphous solids).
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