Optimization of industrial shortening manufacturing procedure: The effect of cooling rate and kneading parameters on viscoelasticity and sensory properties

The main objective of this study was to optimize the industrial shortening manufacturing procedure and investigate the effect of cooling rate and kneading parameters on its viscoelasticity and sensory properties The three selected main crystallization process parameters include the third cooling stage outlet temperature (28–31°C), kneading parameter (100–280 RPM), and filling temperature (30–36°C). The design type and model were Box-Behnken and quadratic, respectively. Rheological viscoelastic experiments on 17 samples with different crystallization factors were performed. Cooling and kneading intensities were manipulated in order to explore the resulting changes in frequency and strain sweep parameters. Additionally, sensory attributes related to the crystallization treatment samples were analyzed. The optimum crystallization parameters that led to the most desired functional attributes were crystallizer 3 outlet temperature of 31°C, kneading intensity of 280 RPM, and filling temperature of 33°C. All the storage modulus (G′) and the loss modulus (G″) model responses exhibited values in the minimum range at the optimum process conditions. This work’s framework sets a new guideline for fine-tuning the functional properties of confectionary shortening through underlying the important role of the optimized crystallization process.