Ian T. Norton & Fotios Spyropoulos 
Practical Food Rheology 
An Interpretive Approach

Rheology is fundamentally important in food manufacturing in two
major senses. Understanding the way in which a substance moves and
behaves is essential in order to be able to transport and mix it
during processing. Secondly, the rheology of a product dictates
much of the consumer experience, e.g. in relation to texture and
mouthfeel.

This book doesn’t overwhelm the reader with complex
mathematical equations but takes a simple and practically-focused
approach, interpreting the implications of rheological data for use
in different food systems. Through this approach industry-based
food developers / rheologists, students, and academics are given
clear, concise interpretation of rheological data which directly
relates to actual perceived functionality in the food. The
functionality may relate to texture, structure and mouthfeel, and
may result as a function of temperature, p H, flocculation,
concentration effects, and mixing.

The interpretative view is based on the principle that the food
rheologist will produce a graph, for example of viscosity or
gelation profiling, and then have to extract a practical meaning
from it. For example, if viscosity falls with time as a
function of p H, this knowledge can be used to tell the customer
that the viscosity can be followed with just a p H meter and a
stopwatch. Rheological measurements have shown that once the
p H has dropped 1 unit after 10 minutes, the viscosity has been
halved. This is the type of practical and valuable information
for customers of the industrial food rheologist which the book will
enable readers to access.

Key features:

* A uniquely practical approach to the often difficult science of
food rheology

* Includes chapters introducing the basics of food rheology
before moving on to how data can be usefully and easily interpreted
by the food scientist

* Can be used as a teaching aid on academic or industry-based
courses

About the author

Professor Ian T Norton, Dr Fotios Spyropoulos and Dr Philip Cox, all of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.