Rheological behavior of blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) purees containing xanthan gum and fructose as ingredients

In the present work the influence of temperature, xanthan gum and fructose addition on rheological behavior in steady state of blueberry puree was evaluated. The blueberry pulp was formulated with addition of xanthan gum (1.6, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.3%) and fructose (6.6, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0 and 23.4%). Rheological data were obtained by shear rate scan tests in a rotational rheometer, with geometry of concentric cylinders in temperatures of 27, 40, 60, 80 and 93 °C. The thixotropy analysis was made through the calculation of the difference between the areas under up and down cycles’ flow curves. The analysis of the formulation influence on puree viscosity was carried out in two stages: i) selection of an appropriate rheological model for representation of data obtained in experiments and ii) statistical analysis of formulation and temperature influence on rheological parameters of selected model. Three 2-parameter models (Bingham, Ostwald–de Waele and Casson) and three 3-parameter models (Herschel–Bulkley, Mizrahi–Berk and Sisko) were tested. Based on the values of correlation coefficients and variance of the estimated parameters, Casson model was chosen for fitting of experimental data. The content of xanthan gum appears as a determinant variable of the rheological behavior of the puree, both at short and long times. The correlation among the variables studied was represented through statistical models which could be used for the development of formulations with specified viscosity in the range of additive concentrations studied.