Stewart Postharvest Review

An international journal for reviews in postharvest biology and technology

Rheological, thermal and dielectric properties of pureed baby foods

Jasim Ahmed
Polymer Source Inc., 124 Avro Street, Dorval, Montreal, Canada

Abstract
Purpose of the review: Consumption of weaning food has increased significantly throughout the world. Weaning foods are commonly
manufactured from starch and protein sources to substitute or incorporate breast milk. Rheological, thermal and dielectric properties are
important parameters for processing, quality control and reheating of pureed baby foods. This article reviews the technological need
and recent available data on thermal, rheological and dielectric properties of pureed baby foods.
Recent findings: Rheological properties of baby foods provide information on quality, transport and handling of pureed foods.
Changes in food ingredients during processing and storage of baby foods have been characterised by thermal analysis. Extensive use of
microwave heating to reheat baby foods have resulted in a better understanding of the dielectric properties of the ingredients and has
led to a requirement for the dielectric data of food ingredients.
Directions for future research: Weaning food is part of modern society and the demand has increased many fold with the increase in
the number of working women. Food product development in the weaning food sector needs technological data. Ironically, technologi-
cal data related to baby foods are not readily available as most of the studies on product development are kept secret by individual food
processors or patented. Data related to rheology, calorimetry and dielectric measurements are vital for product development or design-
ing food equipments.

Keywords: rheology; differential scanning calorimetry; starch gelatinisation; protein denaturation; dielectric constant; loss factor

Abbreviations Correspondence to: Jasim Ahmed, Polymer Source Inc.,

DSC Differential Scanning Calorimeter 124 Avro Street, Dorval, Montreal, H9P 2X8, PQ, Canada.
Tel: +1 514 426 4427; email: jahmed2k@yahoo.com;
LVR Linear Viscoelastic Range jasim@polymersource.com
SAOS Small Amplitude Oscillatory Shear
Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2
Published online 01 October 2007
Symbols doi: 10.2212/spr.2007.5.2
δ Phase Angle
G' Elastic Modulus
G" Viscous Modulus
n Flow Behaviour Index
Tg Glass Transition Temperature
Tmax Peak Thermal Transitions
ω Frequency

© 2007 Stewart Postharvest Solutions (UK) Ltd.

Online ISSN:1945-9656
www.stewartpostharvest.com
Ahmed / Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2

Table 1. Regression parameters obtained from power-type behaviour develop newer products with various technological aspects
of vegetable puree (equation 1) as a function of temperature. such as foods that are easy to feed, compatible with micro-
wave reheating or have improved retention of nutrients from
Type of puree Temperature (oC) A n R2 the use of newer technology. Parents now have the choice
whether or not to breastfeed or buy baby food. The demand
Pea 20 187 0.06 0.97 for baby foods have been continuously increasing year after
35 166 0.05 0.89 year with the increase in the number of working mothers and
the need for convenience foods, and the food industry has
50 179 0.09 0.98
been responding well to the needs.
65 138 0.12 0.99
80 115 0.15 0.99 Most baby foods are semi-solid in nature to make them easy
for children to eat. The ability to manipulate, chew and swal-
Wax bean 20 155 0.09 0.99
low different textured foods is an important learned develop-
35 315 0.09 0.99 mental skill. For this reason, being able to vary the consis-
50 384 0.08 0.99 tency of baby food, from pureed to mashed (at a later stage)
65 156 0.09 0.99
with more solid pieces, is important in the development of
each child’s eating skills. Generally, babies are first intro-
80 149 0.08 0.98 duced to iron-fortified cereal, then to vegetables, fruits, and
Corn 20 131 0.08 0.88 finally meats or analogues. A wide variety of commercial
35 190 0.09 0.95 preparations are available and they provide diversity with
respect to taste and nutritional requirements. Of these prepa-
50 58 0.10 0.91
rations, fruit puree-based baby foods are probably the most
65 40 0.12 0.93 common. For most commercial baby foods, the recommenda-
80 563 0.09 0.75 tion is that it should be warmed before feeding, refrigerated
after first use and consumed within 72 h of opening the con-
Sweet potato 20 5.45 0.05 0.72
tainer. There is no systematic study available on commercial
35 5.30 0.05 0.62 baby foods, their characterisation in terms of rheology/
50 5.12 0.04 0.50 texture and possible changes in ingredients (protein and
65 5.22 0.05 0.53 starch) during handling and storage. This review attempts to
provide some technological data on the rheolgical, calorimet-
80 5.10 0.07 0.67
ric and dielectric properties pertaining to baby foods. Readers
should keep in mind that most of the reported data have been
taken from author’s own work (published and unpublished)
since data related to baby foods are not easy to find in litera-
ture.
Introduction
In earlier days there were few food choices for infants apart
Rheology
from breastfeeding. As infants grow older, baby foods are Rheology is the study of the flow and deformation of matter
generally supplemented by ready-to-eat formulations, com- under the influence of an applied stress. It deals with
monly referred to as weaning foods. Weaning foods are gen- establishing predictions for mechanical behaviour based on
erally formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of the the micro- or nano-structure of the material, eg, the molecular
growing baby and the amounts are adjusted based on the size and architecture of food polymers in solution or particle
baby’s age and weight. Recently, the Joint Working Group of size distribution in a solid suspension. Rheology plays an
the Canadian Paediatric Society, Dieticians of Canada and important role in product development, quality control, sen-
Health Canada recommended that complementary foods (to sory evaluation and process equipment design of food
breast milk or formula) should be introduced at 4–6 months products. Rheological properties provide fundamental in-
of age to meet the infant’s increasing nutritional requirements sights into the structural organisation of food and they play
and developmental needs. Infants should be able to adapt to an important role in fluid flow and heat transfer processes.
different foods, various food textures, colours and ways of The rheological properties of pureed foods have been studied
feeding during this time. With technological developments, extensively and in most cases steady shear viscosimetry
commercial production of baby foods has become a great has been used to characterise these properties [1–3]. Gener-
success. Presently, numerous commercial baby food formula- ally, fluids with suspended particles have a certain structure
tions with great appeal are available for different stages and that is sensitive to shear. Hence, steady-shear viscosimetry
even for special need children. However, formulating baby is not always ideally suited especially when one is
foods is not as easy a task as manufacturing food for adults. interested in probing the viscoelastic properties of an
Baby food manufacturers are spending millions of dollars to unperturbed dispersion.
2
Ahmed / Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2

Figure 1. Temperature dependency of the elastic modulus of wax bean and corn are the major cereals used to prepare porridge-type
puree.
foods in a rehydrated form. The rheological data of such
foods provide information on the handling and feeding of
1,000
1000
babies. Extensive rheological studies have been carried out
20C
o
20 C
20oC
o
35 oC
35C
35 C
on cereal flour and starch paste. Rheological data on cereal
50ooC
50C
50 C
65ooC
65C
65 C
purees are limited since the majority of cereal-based baby
80C
o
80 C
80oC
foods are available in the dehydrated form. Most of the
starchy foods are characterised by viscoamylographic meas-
urement. Such measurement is subjected to both thermal and
(Pa)
G'G’(Pa)

mechanical treatment, which makes it difficult to relate vis-

(Pa)

cous behaviour to the single parameter since most of the ce-

G'

real products are viscoelastic in nature. Recent technical ad-

100
0.1 1 10
Frequency
ω (Hz)(Hz)
Frequency (Hz)
Small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) tests afford the
measurement of dynamic rheological functions, without alter-
ing the internal network structure of the materials tested [4]
and are far more reliable than steady measurement [5]. More-
over, linear viscoelastic material functions measured from
oscillatory testing can be related to steady shear behaviour
[6] and provide more reliable relationships that can be estab-
lished at low frequencies and shear rate. Several empirical
relations have been proposed that relate viscometric functions
to linear viscoelastic properties. In 1958, Cox and Merz [7]
found that the complex viscosity (η*) and steady shear vis-
cosity (η) of polymeric materials is nearly equal, while the
frequency (ω) and shear rate (γ.) are equal (η∗ =η ⎜w=γ.). This
simple empirical rule is applicable for simple polymers how-
ever, it generally fails for structured fluids. Therefore, the
applicability of the Cox-Merz rule to polymeric structured
fluids or complex food systems is debatable. Various modifi-
cations of the rule have been suggested and tested for various
polymeric [8] and food materials (liquid and semi-solid) with
or without yield stress. The rule can be applied to foods
where oscillatory measurement is more convenient than
steady shear measurement.
The following sections provide more specific discussions
under the headings cereals, vegetables, fruits and meat.
Cereal puree
Most baby foods are made from cereals due to their easy di-
gestibility. Cereals are relatively inexpensive and are readily
available throughout the world. In many developing coun-
tries, weaning foods are made into a thick porridge from lo-
cally available cereals, roots and tubers. Wheat, rice, barley
vancement in rheometer fabrication and demand on func-
tional properties provides better understanding and measure-
ment of starchy foods by providing both viscous and elastic
properties simultaneously. Rheometric characterisation of
cereal starch is available in literature [9].
Vegetable puree
Vegetable purees are recommended for babies during wean-
ing and can be mixed with cereals to give a rice-vegetable or
oatmeal-vegetable combination. Information on the rheologi-
cal behaviours of vegetable purees intended for baby feeding
under well-defined flow regimes is limited. Recently, Ahmed
and Ramaswamy [10] studied oscillatory rheological charac-
teristics of commercial vegetable-based baby foods (pea,
creamed corn along with rice, wax bean and sweet potato
puree) using a controlled-stress rheometer in the wide tem-
perature range (20–80oC). Dynamic frequency sweep tests
were performed in the linear viscoelastic range (LVR) to
determine the frequency dependence of the elastic and vis-
cous moduli. It was found that values for the elastic modulus
(G′) were significantly higher than those of the viscous
modulus (G″) at the frequency (ω) values employed for all
vegetable puree samples and therefore, puree samples exhib-
ited weak gel behaviour. Similar behaviour has been reported
for tomato puree, corn-starch paste and sweet-potato puree
[11–12].
Among the vegetable purees studied, pea puree exhibited the
greatest elasticity with a higher magnitude of G′, while wax
bean puree was the least elastic. Corn puree showed more vis-
cous properties with a higher G″ than pea and wax bean puree
(in that order). The ratio of G″ to G′, (phase angle [δ]) rela-
tively measures the energy lost versus energy stored in the
cyclic deformation. A δ of 90o indicates that the material is
fully viscous, while an elastic material is characterised by a δ
value approaching 0o. At 20oC, a δ value of 8.21 to 17.40o was
observed for corn puree supporting a higher viscous nature.
Pea and wax bean showed a similar pattern with a slightly
lower δ ranging from 5.68 to 14.70o. Sweet potato puree exhib-
ited more solid-like characteristics; the predominant response
of the sample to the imposed deformation is the stored poten-
tial energy. The product behaved like an elastic solid, which
was supported by its δ values. For sweet potato puree, solid
property dominates over liquid-like property [13].
3
Ahmed / Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2

Table 2. Steady flow rheological data of some commercial pureed baby foods at 20oC.

Type of puree TSS (oBrix) Herschel-Bulkley model parameters Reference

Yield (Pa) Consistency index Flow index

Pea 7.0 1.83 1.35 0.44 10

Creamed corn with rice 14.0 0.18 0.91 0.44 10

Wax bean 5.1 5.10 1.60 0.48 10

Carrot 8.9 1.65 11.53 0.27 Unpublished data

Sweet potato 11.2 1.46 0.78 0.38 19

Peach 12.2 0.52 1.15 0.33 Unpublished data

Apple 13.6 1.56 3.22 0.33 20

Banana 23.0 6.12 17.58 0.18 20

Mango 12.0 1.38 1.98 0.36 Unpublished data

Apricot 13.8 0.95 3.15 0.36 20

Chicken broth 6.8 14.76 6.53 0.56 29

Beef broth 7.6 9.06 18.00 0.33 29

Lamb broth 7.0 26.30 52.08 0.48 29

All vegetable-based purees followed a power-type relationship
between G' and the studied frequency range (equation 1) that
predicts the nature of food materials mathematically. The slope
of equation 1b predicts the solid-like or liquid-like behaviour
of pureed samples. From a structural point of view, true gels
(ln [ω] versus ln [G′]) have zero slopes [14]. For vegetable
purees, the equations (1a and b) fitted well and slopes indicated
solid-like characteristics for sweet potato and pea purees at
lower temperature; however, the purees transformed to viscous
fluids as the temperature increased. In contrast, wax bean pu-
ree did not exhibit any changes during thermal treatment, while
corn starch puree showed mixed behaviour. A higher magni-
tude of the slope of the equation (1b) indicated irreversible
starch gelatinisation. The observed temperature ranges were
50–65oC for pea and wax bean purees, and 80oC for corn pu-
ree.
G ′ = Aω n ...(1a)
After linearising this equation becomes:
ln G ′ = ln A + n ln ω ...(1b)
Examination of the effect of temperature on the dynamic
rheological characteristics of vegetable purees revealed that
gelatinisation or denaturation substantially affected rheologi-
cal properties, resulting in abnormality from general trends
being exhibited. For example: G′–ω curves of wax bean pu-
ree showed a systematic increase as a function of temperature
in the range from 20 to 50oC, while a sudden decrease was
noticed at and above 65oC (Figure 1). An unusual G′–ω be-
haviour indicated gelatinisation of the vegetable starch. Some
other vegetable purees showed reverse trends.
The observed differences in the rheological behaviour of
these products could be traced to the changes associated with
their starches because of the disruption of the crystalline or
polymorphic structures (phase transition) due to heat treat-
ment in aqueous systems. Starches from different species can
have either A, B or both A- and B- type polymorphic struc-
tures. In this respect, cornstarch is termed an A-type poly-
morph, while pea is believed to have both A and B structures.
Some researchers have suggested that pea starch belongs to
type C (there is less understanding of the C type and most
products are assumed to follow A- and B-type polymorphs)
[15]. No report is available on wax bean starch polymorph
type, but it is believed to be a type B. Amylopectin is the
predominating starch in pea puree. Both corn and wax bean
contain 20–30% amylose and 70–74% amylopectin by
weight, and their rheological characteristics (gelatinisation)
are generally governed by the amylose (straight chain) to
amylopectin (branched chain) ratio. During heating, the crys-
4
 Ahmed / Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2
Figure 2. Mechanical spectra of fruit puree-based baby foods at 20oC.
1000
1,000
(Pa)
G'G'(Pa)
100
Apple G'
Apricot G'
Banana G'
Apple G''
Apricot G''
Banana G''
10
0.01 0.1 ωω(Hz)
1
(Hz) 10 100
talline structure of individual starches melt at specific tem-
peratures, a process generally recognised as gelatinisation.
The process is basically a swelling-driven process and is in-
fluenced by starch functionality. The gelatinisation tempera-
ture may be considered as the melting process, and corre-
sponds to a first-order transition with starch as a polymer
spherulite.
The starch gelatinisation mechanism has been well explained
by Jenkins [16]. The swelling destabilises the amylopectin/
amylose crystallites within the crystalline lamellae that are
ripped apart during the process. The process initiates with a
single crystallite that continues in the whole granule. How-
ever, the process reaches a limiting condition when sufficient
water is not available for the completion of gelation. In such
situations, the remaining crystallites simply melt at higher
temperatures. Ordered linear segments of amylopectin in
corn form the crystalline regions. Corn, which has a double-
helix structure (type A polymorph), needs a higher tempera-
ture to gelatinise. However, the significant amount of amy-
lase (28–32%) present contributes to the lower gelatinisation
of wax bean (type B polymorph) and pea starches
(combination of A and B polymorphs) during heat treatment.
The gelatinisation of these three specific starches takes place
between 50 and 80oC in accordance with types of poly-
morphs and the associated changes have been reflected in the
unsystematic variation of rheological properties.
Steady flow behaviour showed that vegetable purees samples
behaved as non-Newtonian fluids with definite yield stress.
Shear stress-shear rate data adequately fitted the Herschel-
Bulkley model (equation 2). The steady flow parameters of
selected vegetable purees at 20oC are presented in Table 2.
. n
τ =τo + K γ
where τ is the shear stress (Pa), τ0 is the yield stress, γ. is the
shear rate (/s), K is the consistency coefficient (Pa), and n is
1000
1,000
the flow behaviour index (dimensionless).
Ahmed and Ramaswamy [14] studied steady flow behaviour
of sweet potato purees as a function of temperature and found
that rheological parameters were affected by temperature.
The product exhibited yield stress whereas the values varied
(Pa)
G''(Pa)
100 insignificantly with temperature. The consistency coefficient
G"
(K) decreased systematically between 5 and 50oC, but in-
creased at and above 65oC. This type of behaviour is com-
mon for cereal starches where the pasting temperature (above
gelatinisation temperature) attains a peak viscosity and falls
somewhat as temperature rises further [17]. The flow behav-
iour index (n) ranged between 0.34 and 0.54 with no system-
10
atic trend being observed with temperature. The sample
showed non-Newtonian shear-thinning behaviour (n < 1)
with temperature. Sweet potato starch has a fairly high peak
and initial hot paste viscosity (commonly found between 58
and 80oC), thinning rapidly on prolonged cooking at boiling
temperature. Its peak viscosity is similar to that of cassava
starch, lower than that of yam starch and higher than that of
corn starch [18].
Applicability of the Cox-Merz rule between
steady shear and oscillation
The empirical Cox-Merz rule [7] states that the magnitudes
of the complex viscosity (η*) and the steady shear viscosity
(γ.) must be superimposed at equal values of frequency and
shear rate (equation 3). Ahmed and Ramaswamy [19] tested
the applicability of the Cox-Merz rule for sweet potato puree
and found that that the empirical rule does not fit η and η* at
equivalent values of shear rate (0.1–10/s) and frequency
(0.1–10 Hz). The rheological properties of the investigated
systems varied from those of the polymer solutions and are
more similar to those of the structured systems.
.
η * (ω ) = η (γ ) ω =γ. ...(3)
.
η (γ ) = C η * (ω ) ω =.γ .
...(4)
where η and η * are steady shear viscosity and complex vis-
cosity respectively, C is a constant that is decided experimen-
tally.
A generalised Cox-Merz relation (equation 4) that has been
used for some similar commercial food products [5] fitted
well for sweet potato puree. With the introduction of a con-
stant k (shift factor) in complex viscosity data the steady
shear viscosity superimposed those and fitted the Cox-Merz
rule adequately. The constant k did not vary systematically
with temperature. Rao and Cooley [11] demonstrated that
tomato paste samples with yield stress also fitted the Cox-
Merz rule well. The non-fitting of the Cox-Merz rule for
...(2)
most of the food products is attributed to structural decay due
5
Ahmed / Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2

Table 3. Regression parameters obtained from power type behaviour of stress for all experiments was selected. The authors tested ex-
fruit puree (equation 1) as a function of temperature. tremely low shear rates (5.33 ×10-3 to 10/s) in the selected tem-
perature range to verify the yield stress data obtained at previ-
Type of puree Temperature (oC) A n R2 ously mentioned shear rate ranges.

The mechanical spectra of the different fruit puree-

Apple 5 274 0.086 0.994
based baby foods at 20oC are presented in Figure 2. It was
20 436 0.073 0.988
noticed that G′ was substantially higher than G" and both
35 293 0.056 0.970 increased as a function of frequency; therefore, fruit purees
behaved like weak gels. Among the different fruit purees,
50 287 0.055 0.978
apple puree exhibited the maximum G', while apricot puree
65 244 0.062 0.992 had the least. Apple and banana purees showed similar be-
haviour of the viscous component and their rheograms were
80 624 0.081 0.939 almost superimposed on each other (G"-ω curve) at lower
Apricot 5 239 0.078 0.977 frequencies. However, apricot puree showed lower values of
G" throughout the frequency range. At 20oC, banana puree
20 136 0.070 0.985 exhibited more viscous characteristics (δ = 13–20o) compared
35 108 0.055 0.975 with apple (δ = 7.1–16.9o) and apricot (δ = 7.1 to 18.5o)
puree.
50 110 0.058 0.961
The effect of temperature on the dynamic shear moduli of
65 114 0.075 0.923
pureed baby foods indicated that the G′-ω curves of apple
80 62.1 0.037 0.499 puree-based baby food were almost superimposed at tem-
peratures between 5 and 50oC, with insignificant (P>0.05)
Banana 5 384 0.166 0.975
changes especially at higher frequencies. The values of G″
20 264 0.126 0.977 decreased with temperature (P > 0.05) in the frequency range
from 0.1 to 10 Hz, except at 80oC where an increasing trend
35 280 0.138 0.986
was observed. A sharp increase in both G′ and G″ at ~80oC in
50 324 0.184 0.988 apple puree indicated gel formation. Apple contains an aver-
age of 1.5–2% pectin, which induced gelation in the presence
65 517 0.285 0.985 of two other components, namely sugar and acid, at higher
80 651 0.255 0.981 temperature.

Apricot puree showed a continuous decrease in both G' and

to the extensive strain applied. Though applied strain is low
in SAOS, it is sufficient enough in steady shear to break
down structured inter- and intra-molecular associations [4].
The non-applicability of the Cox-Merz rule for sweet potato
puree contributed to starch gelatinisation and rearrangement
of molecular association during thermal treatment.
Fruit-based purees
Fruit purees have been widely used as baby foods throughout
the world since babies like the sweetness and exotic flavour of
fruit purees. Fruit puree-based baby foods are traditionally
made by mixing fruit puree with pre-selected gelling agents
(starch, protein, etc) to produce a soft, smooth and gel-like
product that is easy for infants to consume. Rheological char-
acteristics (both steady flow and dynamic) of three different
commercial fruit puree-based strained baby foods (apple, apri-
cot and banana) were studied as a function of temperature (5–
80oC) [20]. The linear viscoelastic limit for SAOS tests was
determined by stress sweep tests and based on that the applied
G" within the frequency range studied except at temperature
range between 5 and 80oC. For banana puree, no systematic
trend with temperature was observed for either G' or G".
Both G' and G" decreased with an increase in temperature
(5–35oC), but increased at and above 50oC. An increase in
the viscoelastic characteristics of banana puree was attrib-
uted to its starch content. Starch gelatinisation initiated at
50oC and continued up to 80oC. These observations were
further confirmed from the plot of phase angle versus tem-
perature. No significant effect of temperature (P > 0.05) on
phase angle was observed for apricot puree. The phase an-
gle of apple puree decreased systematically with tempera-
ture, excepting at 80oC. The phase angle of banana puree
decreased with temperature (5–35oC) followed by a sharp
increase (P < 0.05) at and above 50oC with the peak value
appearing at 65oC. During the temperature ramp, apple,
apricot and banana puree exhibited more viscous behaviour
with higher phase angle values at 80 and 65oC. These ob-
servations indicate the possible gelatinisation of specific
starches or other additives present in commercial samples of
baby foods. The differences in rheological properties among
the baby foods can be attributed to the differences in their
chemical composition, total solids and nature of additives.
6
Ahmed / Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2
Similar to vegetable purees, the dynamic moduli of fruit pu-
rees as a function of frequency (G′-ω) fitted the power model
adequately (Table 3). Test samples exhibited a weak gel
characteristic with power slopes of positive small magnitudes
(0.04–0.29). Regression parameters did not follow any par-
ticular order with temperature. Rao and Cooley [11] reported
similar weak gel characteristics for tomato paste
(26–30oBrix), with the slope ranging between 0.12 and 0.24.
Steady shear data
Steady shear rheograms of fruit purees indicated the exis-
tence of yield stress at a shear rate ranging from 0.1 to 10/s.
Yield stress has also been reported in literature for various
fruit purees [21–22]. Yield stress is a material property repre-
senting the transition between “solid-like” and “liquid-like”
behaviours, and is related to the minimum shear stress corre-
sponding to the first evidence of flow [8]. The obtained yield
stress values were tested at considerably low shear rate and
found to be satisfactory (P > 0.05). Significant differences
were observed between upward and downward flow data
during the shearing cycles. Commonly, the upward data were
found to be more scattered due to the structural rigidity of the
virgin sample and did not adequately fit any particular
rheological model. However, the downward flow data were
found to be systematic compared with upward data (based on
standard error) therefore downward data have been reported.
Such a behaviour and use of down curve data has been
adopted in several previous studies [3, 23]. Some researchers
have suggested performing a quick initial shearing of test
samples before the actual measurement to obtain consistent
steady shear data. The Herschel-Bulkley model (equation 2)
was found to be the best-fit model for the flow curves over
the wider temperature range for fruit purees.
Magnitudes of the Herschel-Bulkley model parameters for
fruit puree-based baby foods are presented in Table 2. Yield
stress varied significantly among puree samples. The magni-
tudes of yield were similar to reported values [1, 21]. The
consistency index (K) decreased with an increase in tempera-
ture for apricot and banana purees, while no specific trend
was found for apple puree. Moreover, K for apple puree was
significantly (P < 0.05) different from that for other samples.
Magnitudes of n (0.17–0.43) varied significantly (P < 0.05)
over a wide range of values among the puree samples and
temperature, thus confirming the pseudoplastic nature of fruit
purees. Similar K and n values have been reported by several
researchers for various fruit purees [21, 24]. Shear stress-
shear rate data for apple puree increased with temperature
and the highest values were observed at 80oC. However,
shear stress-shear rate data of both apricot and banana puree
decreased systematically with temperature. The fitting of the
Hershel-Bulkley model at and above 65oC for apple puree
was not satisfactory.
Applicability of the Cox-Merz rule
The Cox-Merz empirical rule (equation 3) was found to be
applicable for apricot puree in the temperature range from
5 to 35oC. The Cox-Merz rule does not appear to hold for
other puree samples or for apricot puree in the higher tem-
perature range (50–80oC). The dynamic viscosity function
predominated over shear viscosity function, and the values of
η* were higher than η at almost all the temperature ranges
and behaved differently in the similar range of frequency/
shear rate for each puree. It has been proposed that during
oscillatory experiments the inner deformation increases due
to the presence of rigid particles in suspensions [25]. How-
ever, most of the researchers [26–27] advocated that the de-
fect structure in a liquid crystal system varies over time in a
steady shear experiment until a steady-state viscosity, and
most likely will return to the equilibrium defect structure of
the unsheared state. The Cox-Merz rule can only be applied if
both steady shear and the dynamic oscillation experiments
are probing a similar defect structure. This could be achieved
by shearing the sample before dynamic oscillation measure-
ment [28].
Another modification of Cox-Merz rule was found to fit ade-
quately for fruit puree (equation 5) to relate complex viscos-
ity (η*) and shear viscosity (η) data with frequency/shear
rate.
η * = Cη α .
ω =γ
...(5)
The power indices of the baby foods ranged between 1.15
and 1.47 with an average value of 1.22 + 0.06. Samples with
an α value close to unity showed linear relationships between
steady shear and complex viscosities. The C values for each
food represent the difference in magnitude between the com-
plex and steady shear viscosity. The larger the C value, the
greater the difference in magnitude between the steady and
dynamic viscosities. Apricot puree exhibited the least differ-
ences between two viscosities, while substantial differences
were noticed for apple and banana purees. Temperature has a
significant effect on the power model parameter, C, and the
value decreased with temperature for apple puree, while for
both apricot and banana purees it increased. For all purees,
the changes in α were only marginal except for apricot at 65
and 80oC, which means that the different curves could be
shifted to nearly belong to one band when the scale factor C
is applied to them.
Meat-based baby foods
Three different meat products namely chicken, beef and lamb
have studied by Ahmed and Ramaswamy [29] and discussed
separately. In general, storage modulus values were higher
than loss modulus values over the entire frequency range,
indicating weak gel behaviour. The larger value of storage
modulus is indicative of strong particle–particle interactions
or the network type structure in a stabilised form [12, 30].
Chicken puree
The effects of temperature on the dynamic rheological char-
acteristics of chicken-based baby food indicated that both G′
7
Ahmed / Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2
and G″ values decreased systematically with an increase in
temperature up to 50oC, while an increase was noticed at and
above 65oC. The sudden change and increase in both
rheograms of chicken-based baby food have been explained
from the viewpoint of possible protein denaturation. Authors
have confirmed their claim from phase angle data.
Lamb puree
Magnitudes of G′ and G″ of lamb puree-based baby food
followed patterns similar to that observed with chicken. Both
G′ and G″ values decreased between 5 and 50oC with a turn
toward higher values at 65oC, which increased further as the
temperature was elevated to 80oC. Again, phase angle–
frequency plots supported the above viscoelastic behaviour of
lamb-based baby food at selected temperatures. The phase
angle data was especially variable in the high temperature
zones for lamb puree.
Beef puree
The magnitudes of both G′ and G″ were relatively much
smaller than found with chicken and lamb, and G′ and G″
decreased with frequency in the temperature range from 5 to
65oC, while a sharp increase was observed at 80oC. The sharp
change in both storage and loss modulus values at 80oC pos-
sibly indicate denaturation of proteins present in beef puree.
Phase angle decreased with frequency; however, no clear
influence was observed with respect to temperature.
Application of the power law to pureed meat products
showed that storage modulus-frequency data fitted ade-
quately in the temperature range from 5 to 50oC for all the
baby foods. Results indicated that baby food samples exhib-
ited more solid-like characteristics in the temperature range
studied. The slopes ranged between 0.05–0.15 and the stor-
age modulus was relatively independent of frequency in the
temperature range from 35 to 50oC. Rheological data did not
fit well at and above 65oC due to large variability in the data,
possibly due to initiation or partial denaturation of meat pro-
teins in the baby foods. This study suggests that the dynamic
rheology parameters could describe the viscoelastic proper-
ties of the product and indicate the temperature range where
protein denaturation might be taking place.
Flow models
Shear stress-shear rate data of conventional viscous flow
rheology for meat puree samples fitted the Herschel-Bulkley
model. Flow rheological parameters of meat-based baby
foods are shown in Table 2. The K values decreased with an
increase in temperature for all baby foods, while no system-
atic pattern was noticed for n values. The magnitudes of n
ranged between 0.30 and 0.80 indicating a pseudoplastic
shear-thinning behaviour. The authors have presented
rheograms into two sections based on structural changes dur-
ing heating: the first did not involve denaturation, while the
second was in the denaturation range. Shear stress-shear rate
data for chicken puree shifted upwards and exhibited a maxi-
mum at 80oC, while rheograms of lamb puree at 65 and 80oC
overlapped each other in the low shear rate. Similarly an in-
crease in shear stress was observed in beef puree between 65
and 80oC with the peak value at 80oC. These shifts of
rheograms upward (as opposed to the downward trend obvi-
ously indicate thickening of the product due to denaturation
of proteins. These were influenced by the type of proteins
present in the meat purees.
Thermal analysis
The concept of thermal analysis is commonly practiced in
polymer science to identify the melting point or the glass
transition temperature (Tg) of polymers. Glass transition hap-
pens when a glass is changed into a super-cooled melt during
heating, or to the reverse transformations during cooling.
Both are non-crystalline states; but while the glass is a rigid
solid, the super-cooled melt, which is observed between the
glass transition and the melting point, can be a viscoelastic
“rubber” in the case of a polymeric material, or a mainly vis-
cous liquid, for low molecular weight materials. Materials
move more freely at temperatures above Tg, whereas below
Tg the mobility of materials becomes restricted. The concept
of Tg was introduced by Levine and Slade [31] for food prod-
ucts during the 1980s and currently researchers have under-
stood the need of Tg for food products in product develop-
ment and storage. In this review the phenomenon of Tg is not
included since there is no Tg for pureed foods. In contrast,
some important phenomenon like starch gelatinisation and
protein denaturation are discussed briefly. Ahmed and
Ramaswamy [19, 20, 29] have studied thermal properties of
various baby foods using a differential scanning calorimeter
(DSC). Results are provided individually for better under-
standing.
Thermal characteristics of vegetable puree
DSC thermograms of vegetable purees indicated the struc-
tural changes of the sample during thermal treatment. Baby
food formulations contained a mixture of different starches,
which undergo different order–disorder phase transitions in
the presence of excess water. Such transitions are normally
associated with the gelatinisation process. This phase transi-
tion has been recognised to be associated with the diffusion
of water into the starch granule, water uptake by the amor-
phous background region, uptake of heat, amylase leaching
and others [32].
Pea puree-based baby foods exhibited multiple peak thermal
transitions (Tmax) at 65, 70 and 73oC, and similar transitions
have been reported by various researchers [32–33]. Both wax
bean and corn purees showed distinct gelatinisation peak
temperatures at 55.5 and 810C, respectively. The changes in
the crystalline structure of starch granules during gelatinisa-
tion have been explained on the basis of types of polymorphs.
In pea starches, the type B polymorphs are arranged cen-
trally, while type A polymorphs are located peripherally
within the granules. The gelatinisation temperature ranges
from 65 to 73oC with multiple peaks of DSC corresponding
to the breakdown of type B polymorphs (comparatively more
8
 Ahmed / Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2

Figure 3. Thermograms of pureed baby foods: (a) apple, (b) apricot

and (c) banana.
Earlier, Hwang et al. [34] used DSC to identify the gelatini-
sation temperature of cornstarch and their values ranged be-
0
tween 80 and 85oC.
(a) a
-0.4 Differences in the gelatinisation properties of various foods
are also controlled in part by the molecular structure of amy-
(W/g)
flow(W/g)

-0.8 72 lopectin, starch composition (amylose/amylopectin ratio),

79
Heatflow

87 moisture contents and granule architecture [35]. Han and

-1.2 Tyler [36] reported that during the characterisation of pea
Heat

starches the transitions of pea starches were lower than those

-1.6 of cornstarches. Lower transitions of pea starches were ex-
93 pected based on their high swelling power at 60–70oC. The
-2 DSC thermal transition temperatures for baby foods differed
40 50 60 70 80 90 100 slightly from those of rheological transitions. This could be
Temperature oo attributed to the fact that DSC tests were performed in a tran-
Temperature (( C)
C)
sient scanning mode (at 5oC/min with sub-equilibrium condi-
tion), compared with rheology scans carried out with tem-
-0.28
perature-equilibrated samples (10-min stabilisation at each
b (b) temperature).
-0.29
(W/g)

Sweet potato puree exhibited Tmax at 57 and 94.5oC, respec-

flow(W/g)

-0.3
tively. Sweet potato contains 75–80% amylopectin and 20–
Heatflow

25% amylose, and the first peak corresponds to the gelatinisa-

-0.31
tion of the starches. Gelatinisation of sweet potato starch is of
Heat

the single-stage type [37] and the range was earlier reported to
-0.32
vary between 58 and 75oC [38] and 65 and 80oC [37]. The
91 second thermal transition can be attributed to the presence of
-0.33 other ingredients or disorganisation of amylose–lipid com-
40 50 60 70 80 90 100
o
C)
Temperature ((oC)
plexes. The presence of amylase–lipid complexes in starch
Temperature
systems is revealed by endothermic transition at temperatures
(95–130oC) well above the melting endotherm of starch.
0.2
c (c) Fruit purees
0.18 Among the different purees, both apple and banana puree
exhibited multiple endothermic transitions (Figures 3a and
(W/g)
flow(W/g)

0.16 3c), while apricot puree showed a single transition at 91.2oC

(Figure 3b). Apple puree exhibited thermal transitions with
flow

69
Tmax at 71.6, 78.9, 83.4, 86.4 and 92.6oC, while the Tmax of
Heat

0.14
Heat

banana puree were at 68.9 and 86.8oC, respectively. These

87
0.12 peaks indicate gelatinisation of starches in the puree, those
present or added during the manufacture of baby food.
0.1 Starches of different grades and structure will gelatinise at
40 50 60 70
o
80 90 100 different temperatures. The increase in gelatinisation tem-
Temperature
Temperature((oC)
C) perature of baby foods could be attributed to the presence of
a substantial amount of sugars in the puree as a result of
sugar-starch interactions. Interaction of sugar with starch
chains in the amorphous regions of the starch granule stabi-
lises those regions, thus increasing the energy required for
gelatinisation [39]. DSC observations of both apple and ba-
heat labile) followed first by type A polymorphs that are dis- nana puree-based baby foods confirmed the rheological data
rupted at a higher temperature resulting in a higher peak tem- and gelatinisation of starch in the temperature range of 65
perature. The presence of two peaks in pea starches has been and 80oC, while gelatinisation of apricot puree occurred at a
reported earlier by DSC observations [15]. The authors ar- much higher temperature (91oC), not included in the
gued that it might be either the result of two transitions, or rheological studies. DSC thermal transition temperatures for
the result of one time-dependent two-stage process. However, pureed foods were slightly different from rheological transi-
the presence of a single polymorph in wax bean (type B) and tions. The associated shearing environment in rheological
cornstarch (type A) contributed to a single DSC peak only. tests could be responsible for some deviations.
9
Ahmed / Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2

Table 4. Dielectric parameters of baby foods at microwave frequency and 88oC, while the last transition was a distinct one. Litera-
range at 30oC.
ture on protein denaturation indicates that myosin, collagen
and actin are the principal protein components in lamb meat-
Type of puree 915 MHz 2450 MHz based baby foods. These proteins have been shown to have
denaturation temperatures in the range of 54–60oC, 63–69oC
and 71–83oC, respectively [42–44]. The close proximity of
ε′ ε″ ε′ ε″
current values to some of these is indicative of the presence
Pea 71.1 10.1 65.8 13.7 of similar proteins in the systems.
Peach 72.6 23.1 67.2 19.1
Beef
Commercial potato 59.6 13.9 58.2 10.9 Three distinct endothermic transitions were noticed at 77, 80
flour (15%) and 83oC during thermal scanning of beef-based baby foods,
indicating the protein denaturation temperatures of beef pro-
Rice flour slurry (20%) 72.1 4.0 71.2 7.1
teins. Expulsion of fluid (juice) initiates comparatively in the
Wheat protein dough 8.6 1.9 6.9 1.5 lower temperature range (50oC) with myosin solubility, while
(48% moisture) a more rapid second phase denaturation occurs between 60
and 90oC due to collagen denaturation or actomysin cross-
Legume-chicken 8.4 1.8 7.3 1.5
linking [45]. In a calorimetric study of beef, Bircan and Bar-
Vegetable-beef 70.7 10.1 68.5 12.1 ringer [42] reported the presence of three proteins namely
myosin, collagen and actin. These proteins were reported to
Honey 14.6 7.6 11.3 5.8 denature in the temperature range from 59 to 82oC. In the
present study, the denaturation temperature was mostly be-
tween 71 and 83oC, hence the proteins are probably sar-
coplasmic and actin as they match the literature value more
closely than any other beef proteins [42–43, 45]. The
rheograms of beef puree showed similar patterns up to 65oC
Meat products and only the one at 80oC showed a significant increase rather
Thermal transitions of meat samples, as measured by DSC, than the conventional decreases. Again, since the beef pro-
represented protein denaturation, starch gelatinsation or asso- teins denatured mostly at temperatures higher than 70oC, this
ciated phase change processes such as melting/thawing or phenomenon could be expected.
solubilisation.
Dielectric properties
Chicken The electrical properties of materials in the context of micro-
Three distinct endothermic transitions were found in chicken- wave and radio frequency heating are termed as dielectric
based baby food with Tmax of 65.2, 73.0 and 81.5oC. These properties, which provide a measure of how food materials
peaks indicated that there were at least three major components interact with electromagnetic energy. Biological materials
in the chicken puree that demonstrated endothermic reactions. can be considered as non-ideal capacitors in that they have
It is reasonable to assign these to different proteins and to as- the ability to store as well as dissipate electrical energy from
sume that these proteins were denaturated at the indicated spe- an electromagnetic field, and the properties can be expressed
cific temperatures. The three predominant proteins have been in terms of a complex notation [46]. The complex notation is
generally recognised to be sarcoplasmic, myofibrillar and stro- described by dielectric permittivity with a real component,
mal proteins [40, 41], which have denaturation temperatures in dielectric constant (ε'), and an imaginary component, dielec-
the range of 63–83oC. The thermal behaviour of proteins is tric loss factor (ε") [47]. The dielectric constant is a measure
also influenced by the presence of other ingredients and com- of a material’s ability to store electric energy, and the loss
ponents. The presence of a large amount of fat in the product factor is a measure of its ability to dissipate the electrical
could have an influence on the thermal transition of specific energy in the form of heat.
proteins. The first peak was observed at around 65oC, but no
gelation/denaturation dependent changes were obvious up to Dielectric properties of food materials are considered the
this temperature. The temperature zone (65–82oC) involved major factors contributing to the interactions between micro-
thermal transitions, especially between 73 and 82oC. Without waves and food. Various factors can influence the dielectric
much debate these could be assumed to be responsible for the properties of foods including moisture, salt, ash, electromag-
increase in viscous parameters and for the large scatters ob- netic waves, frequency, temperature, density and the physical
served in the rheogram. state of food. However, water is the major component of food
with regard to heating by electromagnetic energy. Dielectric
Lamb properties of foods are available in the literature for a range
Thermal scanning of lamb puree-based baby foods exhibited of temperature and frequency. The influence of water and salt
several small endothermic transitions with Tmax of 52, 67, 79 (or ash) content depends to a large extent on the manner in
10
Ahmed / Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 5:2

Figure 4. Dielectric spectra of peach puree-based baby food: (a) dielec- technique could be used as a supporting tool to monitor dena-
tric constant and (b) loss factor. turation of protein foods; it is also important to establish pre-
dictive models if the changes are significant.
80
(a)
a
(a)
(a) Dielectric properties of baby foods are rare in literature al-
5Co
5C 20ooC
20C
20 C
though there is an immense potential for dielectric data of
75 40Co
60C
60ooC
baby foods. As discussed earlier, baby food must be refriger-
40oC
ated after opening and further use requires reheating. Reheat-
constant

80C
80ooC 90C
90ooC
constant

80 C 90 C
ing is currently carried out by microwave heating and in this
Dilectric constant

respect dielectric data is very important for designing and

Dielectric

developing baby food heating equipment. Dielectric data on

Dielectric

70
few available baby foods are presented in Table 4 [48–51].
Dielectric spectra data from the author’s own work have been
65
illustrated in Figure 4. Dielectric constant gradually de-
creased as a function of temperature and frequency, whereas
the reverse is true for loss factor as function of temperature.
A significant change in dielectric parameters was noticed for
60 protein or starchy foods at denaturation or gelatinisation tem-
0 500 1000
1,000 1500
1,500 2000
2,000 2500
2,500 3000
3,000 perature and available in the literature [48–49].
Frequency
Frequency(Hz)
Frequency (Hz)
(Hz)
90 Conclusion
b (b)
(b) In conclusion, every mother likes to feed branded baby foods
from a reputed company or even home made. Rheological
70 and thermal characteristics provide in depth understanding of
5C
5oC 20C
20oC
product quality and handling, and possible changes in protein
and starches during processing and storage. Dielectric data
factor

40C
40oC 60C
60oC
factor
Lossfactor

50 80C 90C
provides heating performance in either radio frequency or
80oC 90oC
microwave heating system. The commercial market of baby
Loss
Loss

foods is enormous but ironically technological data on baby

30
foods are limited. Rheology provides understanding of prod-
uct and role of ingredients in product formulation. Thermal
data provide and support rheological data and possible
changes during thermal treatment or during storage. Dielec-
10
tric data could be used as a supporting tool to thermal data
0 500 1000
1,000 1500
1,500 2000
2,000 2500
2,500 3000
3,000 and there is the possibility to compare the moisture content in
Frequency
Frequency(Hz)
(Hz)
Frequency (Hz) the baby foods. However, more research needs to substantiate
data on baby foods for better handling, processing and qual-
ity control.

which they are bound or restricted in their movement by the
other food components.
The change in physical state affects dielectric properties of
carbohydrate and protein foods. Proteins are complex hetero-
polymers of amino acids, and contain a mixture of neutral,
polar, and charged side chains. Although the dielectric prop-
erties of simple systems such as pure liquids, are well known,
the influence of the heterogeneous protein environment on
electrostatic interactions is still not well understood. Several
authors have claimed that the denaturation of proteins or
starch gelatinisation can be detected by the measurement of
dielectric properties. The significant decrease/increase of
dielectric parameters at a particular temperature was com-
pared with the denaturation temperature obtained by DSC
and found to match the results. The dielectric measurement
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