ABSTRACT
Rheology is the science of deformation and flow of matter. The rheological properties of a material provide relevant information on its structure, its behavior during processing, and its end-use properties. This chapter aims to show the point up to which rheological methods can actually be useful for cereal processing and which improvements they eventually require. Rheological properties create the link between the stresses applied to a material and the way this material will flow or deform. Rheological measurements can be split into two categories: empirical measurements; and objective measurements. Empirical measurements have been developed for approaching the quality of the raw ingredients and following the first two steps of cereal processing over a limited domain. The chapter provides a distinction between measurements in large deformations and in small deformations. Viscoelastic properties are sometimes more difficult to measure, mainly at high temperatures and for large deformations.
