Rheology of Selected Honeys

In this study, rheological properties of five honey samples (Acacia, Citrus Blossom, Fynbos, Bluegum and Raw) were measured. Steady shear and dynamic rheological tests confirmed almost Newtonian behavior for all samples examined over the temperature range of 0–60° C. The water contents of honeys were between 15% and 23%. Fitting of the data in the temperature experiment, showed that primarily expected Arrhenius model is not the best model. Excluding the Raw honey that was possible to be fitted to the said model, the other honey samples were best fitted to a Hyperbolic Tangent model. For the fitted Raw honey however, the activation energy was evaluated to be 95783 J/kg mole. While some rather exceptional viscoelastic properties were observed for the samples, the thixotropic effects were virtually nonexistent. These findings can provide insight into the microstructural, physiological and sensory changes. Also, the study completes a series of studies on rheology of honeys conducted worldwide.