Rheological Behavior of Food Gels

In this chapter, the formation of gels and their softening (melting) are reviewed. Further, some of the contents of chapter have been discussed by the authors in a recent review of the subject (Lopes da Silva et al., 1998). While most food gels are 

In addition, other measurement techniques in the linear viscoelastic range, such as stress relaxation, as well as static tests that determine the modulus are also useful to characterize gels. For food applications, tests that deal with failure, such as the dynamic stress/strain sweep to detect the critical properties at structure failure, the torsional gelometer, and the vane yield stress test that encompasses both small and large strains are very useful. 

Because different biopolymer gel systems can be encountered, different gelation mechanisms also can be encountered. Because of variations in the number and nature of the cross-links, framework flexibility, attractions and repulsions between framework elements, and interactions with solvent, different properties of the formed gels 

Alternating, 3- and -1,4-linked gaJactose residues presence of 3,6-anhydride residues presence of sulfated residues 

Alternating 1,3-linked jff-D-galactopyranose and 1, 4-linked 3,6-anhydro-of-L-galactopyranose 

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