The rheological and instrumental textural properties of selected table fats

The rheological and instrumental textural properties of the butters, margarines and spreads were determined in this study. Three factors affected on the rheology and the instrumental texture of the examined yellow fat products: temperature of the measurement, origin and the content of the fat. The results obtained at 5 and 20 degrees C showed significant differences (p <= 0.05) in spreadability and hardness. The highest hardness and the lowest spreadability values were recorded for the butters and mixed fat products with high fat content. Generally, milk fat content caused a significant increase of hardness and decrease of spreadability. The best spreadability was measured for the spreads with the lowest fat content. Adhesiveness and cohesiveness analysis revealed that the most adhesive and less cohesive were the products with high fat content, less adhesive and the most cohesive were spreads with the lowest content of lipids. All of the samples exhibited thixotropic and shear-thinning behavior. High correlation was found between spreadability and hardness. Apparent viscosity did not correlate with spreadability and hardness.