Use of phenomenological rheology methods to analyze the viscoelastic properties of bee honeys

• Published in: Journal of food process engineering 2021-03, Vol.44 (3), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Orczykowska, Magdalena, Olejnik, Tomasz P., Rosicka‐Kaczmarek, Justyna, Miśkiewicz, Karolina, Kowalska, Gabriela
• Format: Magazinearticle
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0145-8876; 1745-4530
• DOI: 10.1111/jfpe.13637

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of temperature on the rheological properties of natural Polish honeys. We used phenomenological rheology methods to assess the elasticity and crosslinking ability of the structure of the honeys, as well as to investigate both the possibility of slowing down the aging process and the damping factor of the network oscillations. Dynamic tests of buckwheat, clover, and honeydew honeys were performed by measuring the storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G′′) in the angular frequency range of 0.1 rad/s to 100 rad/s across a wide temperature range (−20°C to 70°C). The honeys were found to have a typical structure for viscoelastic quasi‐solid bodies, with a tendency to form a pseudo‐gel. Phenomenological rheology methods were shown to be suitable for assessing changes in the structures of bioproducts, such as bee honeys. Practical Applications The presence of so many different chemical compounds in honey makes it a material with heterogeneous and variable molecular structure, which depends on the way it is stored and the individual operations performed during processing (liquefaction, pumping, transport, etc.). Temperature is among many factors influencing the properties and structure of honey during technological operations. Phenomenological rheology methods have been shown to be an appropriate tool for assessing changes in the structure of bioproducts such as bee honeys. Their use makes it possible to determine changes in the rheological parameters of the tested honeys, resulting from temperature changes during storage or transport. The analysis of the mechanical state of the structure honeys carried out this way can be useful to properly design (predict) the course of processing processes of such a medium, which is particularly important from the point of view of utility characteristics and physicochemical properties of the final product obtained with the use of honey. phenomenological rheology methods were used to assess the structural properties of honey the effect of temperature on the rheological properties of honey was analyzed Polish honeys are media with behavior typical of viscoelastic quasi‐solids bodies The ratio of fructose to glucose determines the resistance of honeys to aging