Rheological study of food gels

Abstract

The aim of this report is to show the analysis and results on the study of the rheological properties on the component of an aged egg in order to determine the freshness of the egg. The components of the egg, namely the egg white and yolk had their rheological properties measured through the rheometer.

Two experiments were conducted on the component of the aged egg using the rheometer to understand how the rheological properties changes as the egg ages. The steady state experiment was performed to understand how the shear rate would affect the viscosity of the components of the egg as it ages. In order to understand how the storage (G’) and loss (G”) moduli were affected when the egg ages, the dynamic experiment was carried out.

The two experiments are carried out at 25°C, 50°C, and 75°C to determine at which temperature would be better chosen to be used as a standard for determining the freshness of the egg. The freshness of an egg was set at day 15, with anything older than that to be deem not fresh.

Experimental investigation, and numerical analysis were conducted on the components of the aged egg at 25°C, 50°C, and 75°C. The results found that 25°C, and 50°C of egg white and yolk yielded similar trends as compared to the 75°C. This was further backed up by experiments conducted by other researches. In conclusion, the experimental results shows that the rheological properties of the component of an egg may be used to study and determine the freshness of an egg.