Monitoring of acidified milk gel formation by ultrasonic shear wave measurements. High-frequency viscoelastic moduli of milk and acidified milk gel.

In the present paper we describe the application of the thickness shear mode resonator technique for the measurement of viscoelastic parameters of milk and acidified milk gels in the megahertz frequency range. The technique provides information on the viscoelasticity of milk and milk gels in the time scale of 10(-8) to 10(-7) s. The length scale of the measurements, determined by the depth of penetration and the wavelength of the shear wave, falls between the submicron and micron range. In milk acidified by glucono-delta-lactone we observed an increase in the high- and low-frequency loss modulus, G", below pH 5.1, indicating aggregation of casein particles into clusters. There was a sharp rise in high- and low-frequency storage (G') and loss (G") moduli between pH 4.85 and 4.7, as a result of gel network formation in acidified milk. Both G" and G' of milk gel in the megahertz frequency range are several orders higher than those we obtained at low frequencies (0.02 to 10 Hz) using dynamic rheology. The high-frequency (5 to 25 MHz) viscosity of milk was found to be the same as at low frequencies. Overall, our results demonstrate the high sensitivity of the ultrasonic shear wave measurements to the changes in the rheological parameters in acidified milk during gelation.