Correlation between in-line measurements of tomato ketchup shear viscosity and extensional viscosity

Journal article, 2016

The viscosity and shear thinning behavior are essential characteristics of tomato ketchup. A real-time monitoring of those characteristics during processing is important to obtain a good quality of the final product and to reduce production waste. This work investigates the measurement of rheological in-line flow properties of tomato ketchup, using a real-time technique that combines ultrasound velocity profiling (UVP) and pressure difference (PD) assessment. In-line data were compared to those obtained off-line using a rotational viscometer. There was a poor correlation with the Bostwick measurement, whereas the flow curves calculated from flow velocimetry data were very similar to those measured off-line. The extensional viscosity of ketchup was determined through the measurement of Hyperbolic Contraction Flow; the curve followed a trend similar to that for the shear viscosity over the deformation rate investigated.