Physical and rheological properties of fruit products

Summary

In view of the increasing demand of the population with respect to health-related issues, nutrition and wellbeing, the food market has been concerned to increase the inclusion of healthier ingredients such as fruits, for example, to meet this new consumer demand. The optimization of a process is dependent on the presence of accurate data to allow for the correct sizing of the equipment. The aim of this study was to characterize commercial samples of fruit-based products and evaluate their thermophysical (density, specific heat, thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity) and rheological (viscosity and apparent activation energy) properties in order to fit the theoretical models. The results were adjusted to mathematical models showing relative errors between 0.2 and 50%, the density adjustment model (maximum error of 1.7%) being the most accurate. The rheological behavior of the samples fitted the power law model best (R²> 0.96), and the viscosity correlated well with the temperature according to the Arrhenius equation (R²> 0.90).

Keywords:
Fruit preparations; Rheology; Thermal properties; Physical characterization