Flow behaviour of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) flour dispersions:: effect of additives

Dispersions of chickpea flours are used in the production of several convenience foods including fried snacks and sweets. The effect of different additives like salt (0-3%), vegetable oil (0-10%) and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) (0-2%) on the time-independent flow behaviour at shear-rates up to 500 s(-1) was studied using a concentric cylinder geometry. The rheological behaviour was modelled (variance between 0.001 and 0.005) using the Cross equation to determine various parameters such as zero-shear and high-shear limiting viscosities, relaxation time (tau) and power index (m). Salt and oil reduced the apparent viscosities enhancing easy flow of dispersions. An increase in CMC level markedly increased the high-shear limiting viscosity whereas the effect was marginal for samples with added oil or salt. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.