Rheology of Foods: New Techniques, Capabilities, and Instruments
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Application Note Rheology of foods: New techniques, capabilities, and instruments Peter K.W. Herh, Steven M. Colo, Nick Roye, and Kaj Hedman heology is the branch of science that deals the type of rheological measuring technique used. with the flow and deformation of materi- An antisettling agent should be tested at low shear R als. Rheological instrumentation and rheo- conditions, simulating settling in a bottle. A sample logical measurements have become essential tools with an antisettling agent will only be stable for a in the analytical laboratories of food companies for specific period of time. Therefore, the desired shelf- characterizing ingredients and final products, as life stability must be known or determined. Stabil- well as for predicting product performance and ity is almost exclusively a consumer preference. consumer acceptance. Most food products change their appearance and The materials under investigation can range from texture upon storage. Therefore, an objective, quan- low-viscosity fluids to semisolids and gels to hard, titative method for determining their stability is solid-like food products. A knowledge of the rheolog- needed. Rheological measurements can be used to ical and mechanical properties of various food sys- predict shelf-life stability once there is historical tems is important in the design of flow processes for data on a given product. Comparing a sample with quality control, in predicting storage and stability acceptable life versus an unknown will provide a measurements, and in understanding and designing measure of shelf-life at the production stage, with- texture. Quality attributes such as spreadability and out the need to wait the weeks or months that Figure 1 STRESSTECH research rheometer. creaminess are extremely important to the accep- could be necessary for the actual test sample to set- tance of semisolid food products by consumers. tle or phase-separate. In the case of food materials, texture is a key quality factor. Rheological behavior is associated di- A switch in one of the raw ingredients can also rectly with textural qualities such as mouth feel, A knowledge of the rheological have a dramatic effect on the final product. For ex- taste, and shelf-life stability. As an example, rheo- and mechanical properties of ample, if the Florida orange crop is not up to stan- logical measurements are useful in storage stability dards, a producer of fruit juice may have to switch predictions of emulsion-based products such as various food systems is important to fruit from California or Spain. Due to the fruit's mayonnaise and salad dressings. geographically different environment, the natural in the design of flow processes for pectin content will differ. A change in formulation will be required to achieve a similar product. Importance of acceptable food rheology quality control, in predicting storage and stability Consumers use subjective tests to determine the Rheological instrumentation p e rceived quality of a food product. For example, measurements, and in the determination of fruit firmness is based on the In principle, every type of consumable food prod- deformation resulting from the physical pressure understanding and designing uct has some rheological characteristic. Most readily applied by the hands and fingers. The toughness or texture. consumable food products contain ingredients that tenderness of meats is based on the effort required have a major impact on the rheology of the final for the teeth to penetrate and chew the flesh tissue. product. Food processors and raw material manufac- Food companies use instruments in an attempt to In food products, small changes in the amount of turers have been aware of the importance of viscos- objectify these subjective customer perceptions and additive can have a dramatic effect on the final prod- ity for many years. To d a y, rheological instrumenta- acceptance criteria. Objective instrument tests for uct. The formulation of popular sports drinks can be tion is considered a required analytical tool utilized texture also rely on deformation of the food mate- used as an example. To produce an acceptable lemon- by food scientists on a daily basis. These instruments rial. Toughness can be defined as the maximum based drink, 1.5% stabilizer/emulsifier is needed in are M i c r o s o f t ® Windows™ (Redmond, WA ) - b a s e d , f o rce required to slice through a sample. Firmness the water/oil interface. At 1.5%, the drink is water and measurements are made quickly and easily with can be defined in terms of the force required to de- based. However, an increase to 1.55% changes the the use of straightforward, user-friendly software. form a body of material. product to an oil-based drink and results in a totally The operator simply loads the sample into the in- The quality of a food product depends strongly undrinkable product. In addition, the oil-based prod- strument and selects the appropriate experiment, on its formulation. Certain ingredients called modi- uct will show a drastic increase in viscosity with time and the instrument does the rest. fiers have a larger influence on the finished prod- compared to the water-based drink, which is com- Food products are complex mixtures of different u c t ’s properties than others. Examples of modifiers pletely stable. A simple rheological test could be the ingredients where individual ingredients are mixed are stabilizers, emulsifiers, and structural agents. monitoring of viscosity at low shear rates to establish together to produce a finished product. In many The type of modifier and its desired effect dictate if the correct amount of stabilizer is added. cases, the individual ingredients consist of mixtures Figure 2 Strain sweep on mayonnaise. Figure 3 Frequency sweep on mayonnaise. 16 / JUNE 2000 Figure 4 Steady shear rate sweep on maple syrup. Figure 5 Steady shear rate sweep with first normal stress on honey. of solid as well as fluid components. Most times, above their boiling point; automatic gap setting; re- This phenomenological shear history and loading they are not homogeneous, and the properties vary mote diagnostics capability via modem; and auto- effect require that all structured samples be run un- throughout the sample. Tr a d i t i o n a l l y, single-point matic inertia compensation. In addition, all AT S der user-selectable controlled normal force condi- viscosity tests have been performed using empirical Rh e o S y s t e m s rheometers are designed on a modu- tions. In addition, all samples must be provided a fi- techniques. These simple viscosity experiments ex- lar platform allowing easy upgradability. A wide nite time for their respective internal structure to press the complex rheological response of a sample range of accessories satisfy the most demanding ap- rebuild after loading. into a single parameter, and are not adequate in plications with ease of operation. Considering dynamic oscillation frequency characterizing and/or providing insight into the sweeps, the viscoelastic properties are also depen- quality of food materials. The ingredients used to- User-selectable and quantitative, controlled axial dent on the residual loading history, as shown in day are numerous and expensive, and, as a result, normal force sample loading F i g u re 3. To overcome the sample-dependent load- the cost for controlling these ingredients is high. ing criteria, the rheometers are available with Detailed knowledge and an objective, reproducible, Although transient steady shear and periodic dy- Patented Differential Pressure Normal Force capa- multipoint measurement capable of decomposing namic oscillatory experiments provide information b i l i t y. With this highly sensitive, robust, and accu- the rheological behavior into individual compo- on the rheological properties of food products, they rate axial loading and measurement sensor, con- nents are necessary. The STRESSTECH rheometer do not completely characterize the system. Con- trolled normal force loading and quantitative (ATS RheoSystems, Bordentown, NJ, and R E O - cerning food samples, or any complex, two-phase measurements of normal force, first normal stress LOGICA Instruments AB, Lund, Sweden) used in system, the rheology is dependent on the sample’s difference, and normal stress coefficient can be this study provides all of the required instrument deformation history, loading conditions, and the ax- made as a function of time, temperature, rate, and features and capabilities. ial normal force applied during a measurement. For stress. In addition, the rheology of any material can The rheometer is a research-grade analytical in- example, stress/strain sweeps were performed on a be determined independent of its sensitivity to strument capable of measuring viscous, elastic, and c o m m e rcial mayonnaise product. The results of a loading conditions. viscoelastic properties of liquids, semisolids, and mayonnaise sample run immediately after loading solids (F i g u re 1). The instrument was developed for into the rheometer, and a new sample 300 sec after Sensory evaluation methods for liquid foods use by the serious rheologist, and provides a very loading into the rheometer, are shown in F i g u re 2, broad measurement range, spanning low-viscosity where shear moduli (G′ and G′ ′) are plotted as a Systematic analysis of texture is very important samples such as fruit juice to more viscous products function of shear stress. The sample run without the for food product development. Texture is a key such as creams and salad dressings, semisolids and 300-sec rest period exhibits lower properties since quality factor in food. One of the most important gels through hard cheeses and solid-state samples. the internal structure did not have sufficient time to textural terms obtained is the analysis of thickness. The rheometer incorporates the following fea- rebuild prior to testing. To dissipate this residual Consumers usually associate changes in thickness tures: wide torque, shear stress, temperature, shear loading history, it was determined that a 300-sec de- with changes in viscous behavior of food materials.