Thermal loop test to determine structural changes and thermal stability of creamed honey: Rheological characterization

This study was the first attempt to understand if thermal stability of any food product during storage could be determined. In this respect, a novel method, namely, the thermal loop test was used to determine structural changes and thermal stability of creamed honey in this study. The novelty of this method was that thermal stability of a product is tested within a number of thermal cycles over a determined range of temperature. Creamed honey was characterized in terms of physicochemical, thermomechanical and rheological properties. It showed non-Newtonian thixotropic behavior at all temperature levels (10, 25 and 40 °C). Time-dependent flow behavior was successfully defined by Weltman and second order structural models. Hysteresis loop area depended on temperature and decreased with increase in temperature. Creamed honey had liquid-like structure, showing that it had more pronounced viscous nature than elastic nature (G″ > G′). Temperature sweep tests were conducted to determine temperature dependency of η₅₀, G′ and G″ values using Arrhenius equation. These test results confirmed the thermal stability test results, revealing that thermal loop test can be an accurate method to determine thermal stability of similar food products, as a new information. Relative structural index value (Δ) increased with number of thermal loop, suggesting that creamed honey had low thermal stability and showed a great structural change by the thermal stress applied between 5 °C and 50 °C. These results suggest that crystallized honey be abstained from large temperature fluctuations to avoid from irreversible changes in rheological characters; thus, to maintain spreadability.