REFINING KINETICS OF FAT BASED ANHYDROUS CREAMS

Abstract

Anhydrous pastes defined as a complex system consisting of several solid particles dispersed in a continuous fluid (oil) or in a semi-solid phase as cocoa butter, (Birkett, 2009). Refining of anhydrous pastes in a stirred ball mill was characterized in terms of energy use and product viscosity, particle size and sensory characteristics. With special milling power of 0.03 kW/Kg of paste, the fineness of partical interest 22.4 and 30.4mm, was reached in 225-150min, respectively (Fidaleo, 2017). The pastes showed a pseudoplastic behavior, as zero shear rate viscosity was around 1000 Pa·s, for the low refined samples, increasing until values between 1000 and 10000 Pa·s, for the samples more refined. The particle size distribution (PSD) curves obtained by laser diffractometry were unimodal, with D90 higher than digital micrometer reding but with a good coorelation, R = 0.85.