On the Effects of Cold Temperatures and Solute Concentrations on the Solidification of Gelatine

Abstract

The solidification phenomenon of gelatine is important in many applications especially as an ingredient in certain food products that requires particular textural characteristics. This work was aimed to study the effects of temperatures and solute concentrations on solidification kinetics of gelatine by using Avrami kinetic phase change model analyses. The extent of solidification/gelation was measured gravimetrically and the sigmoid solidification curves were able to be constructed. The Avrami plots were managed to be produced and the Avrami exponents, n, and the rate constant, K, were extracted from the linear equations obtained. It was found that, lowering the cooling temperatures lead to higher K and reduced n values depicting faster rate of solidification with smaller dimensions. It was also observed that increasing the solute concentration lead to larger K and lower n values portraying that solidification rates was increased, and higher dimensions of solids were achieved.