Flow Properties of Commonly Used Food Powders and Their Mixtures

The aim of this study was to get an insight on flow properties of five different food powders and their mixtures frequently used in industrial production of foodstuffs and in households. The studied food powders were flour, maize semolina, sugar, cocoa, and skim milk powder together with their mixtures. Based on cohesion index, samples were categorized as follows: easy flowing—sugar powder, skim milk powder, maize semolina, and mixture 3 (wheat flour and sugar powder); cohesive—flour and mixture 1 (wheat flour and maize semolina); very cohesive—mixture 4 (wheat flour, cocoa, and sugar powder), and extremely cohesive—cocoa powder and mixture 2 (cocoa, sugar, and skim milk powder). Based on powder flow speed dependency test, positive multiple correlations were found between four powder mixtures and their basic components at all speeds. Flour, maize semolina, and mixtures 1 and 3 did not show any susceptibility to caking, while sugar, skim milk powder, cocoa powder, and mixtures 2 and 4 showed an increasing cake height ratio indicating their susceptibility to caking.