Mapping processing-induced deformation through oscillatory rheological descriptors in ice cream

This study establishes a framework to relate processing-induced deformation during ice cream churning to equivalent oscillatory rheological descriptors. The framework was demonstrated in standard ice cream (13% fat and 4% protein) formulated with three whey-to-casein ratios (13/87, 20/80, and 59/41). The proposed framework enabled the establishment of relationships among rheological descriptors (critical strain, S-factor, and T-facor), microstructure (relative fat density), and functional properties (overrun and meltdown rate). Within the linear viscoelastic region, the viscoelastic strength indices were related linearly (R 2 > 0.92) to microstructure through relative fat density, indicating that stronger networks are associated with higher levels of fat organization. Outside the linear viscoelastic region, the critical strain was inversely related to overrun (R 2 > 0.99), indicating that mixes yielding at lower strain incorporated more air during batch churning. Large-amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) analysis showed that the S-factor correlated with meltdown rate, suggesting that elastic contributions of the matrix play an important role in delaying structural collapse during melting, whereas the T-factor was related to the onset of meltdown through changes in viscous response. Finally, meltdown rate was inversely related to microstructure through relative fat density, indicating that more interconnected structures slowed liquid drainage.