ABSTRACT

Rheological properties are important to the design of flow processes, quality control, storage and processing stability measurements, predicting texture, and learning about molecular and conformational changes in food materials (Davis, 1973). The rheological characterization of foods provides important information for food scientists, ingredient selection strategies to design, improve, and optimize their products, to select and optimize their manufacturing processes, and design packaging and storage strategies. Rheological studies become particularly useful when predictive relationships for rheological properties of foods can be developed which start from the molecular architecture of the constituent species.