Nonlinear (Large-Amplitude Oscillatory Shear) Rheological Properties and Their Impact on Food Processing and Quality.

Large-amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) testing has been increasingly used over the past several decades to provide a fuller picture of food rheological behavior. Although LAOS is relatively easy to perform on a wide variety of foods, interpretation of the resulting data can be difficult, as it may not be possible to link the results to food components, microstructural features or changes, or physicochemical properties. Several analysis methods have been developed to address this issue, but there is currently no standard method for foods.

Understanding How High-Protein Bar Formulations Impact Their Mechanical and Wear Behaviors Using Response Surface Analysis.

High-protein bars are popular snack items that can have significant processing issues like sticking, clogging, and cold flow. These issues are primarily problematic during formulation development because current predictive testing is reliant on highly empirical bench tests or pilot plant testing, which is expensive and time-consuming. Wear testing, which has been used in the medical field to evaluate the lifetime of soft materials used in joint replacements, may have promise in evaluating food processing ability.

Impact of formulation on high-protein bar rheological and wear behaviors.

Due to the popularity of high-protein bars, many new formulations are being generated to meet consumer preferences. New formulations may have different mechanical behaviors that can negatively impact processing ability, which makes determining the effect of ingredients on processing ability important. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of major ingredients in high-protein bars on their rheological and tribological behaviors.

Rheological and sensory behaviors of parboiled pasta cooked using a microwave pasteurization process.

Unlabelled: Pasta hydration and cooking requirements make in-package microwave pasteurization of pasta a processing challenge. The objective of this study was to assess instrumental and sensory attributes of microwave-treated pasta in comparison to conventionally cooked pasta. Fettuccine pasta was parboiled for 0, 3, 6, 9, or 12 min, pasteurized by microwaves at 915 MHz, then stored under refrigeration for 1 week.