Chinese steamed bun is a popular food in Asia but it has short storage life due to high moisture content. This research is aimed to develop ready-to-eat custard cream filled Chinese steamed bun (CCSB) with shelf life of at least 10 days using hurdle technology. The hurdle parameters used were a_w, pH, and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). The effects of adding glycerol and fructose on sweetness, texture, and overall acceptance (OAA) in the custard cream filling and glycerol and lactic acid on appearance, flavour, texture, and OAA in the steamed bun were studied. The optimum condition for custard cream filling was found to be 6% glycerol and 6% fructose and for the steamed bun was 2.5% glycerol and 0.25% lactic acid. These conditions gave the filling and bun having a_w of 0.915 and 0.912, respectively. The shelf-life study of the steamed bun was investigated by adding calcium propionate (CaP) and the aerobic plate count (AC), a_w, and pH of the hurdletreated products (HP) packed in PVDC pouch and stored at 30±2°C were measured every 2 days. The results showed that all HP samples with or without CaP could be stored for more than 16 days. Next the custard cream filling was combined with the HP bun without CaP. The CCSB was packed in PVDC pouch with and without oxygen absorber (OA) and stored at 30±2°C. Based on microbiological determination the CCSB with OA could be stored for 10 days while the CCSB without OA could be stored for only 4 days. However from the texture measurement and sensory test on OAA the shelf-life of CCSB packed with OA was 8 days.
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