Nonlinear viscoelasticity of cheese

Cheese viscoelasticity is commonly measured using steady uniaxial compression, steady uniaxial extension, shear and compressive creep, and stress relaxation in shear and compression. Viscoelastic properties for many cheeses have also been studied using small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS). However, there is little on the measurement of nonlinear viscoelastic properties. The large deformation test usually conducted on cheese to study nonlinear viscoelasticity is uniaxial compression, but this test hardly departs from linear behavior. In this work, the nonlinear viscoelasticity of four cheese varieties was studied using large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS). A sliding plate rheometer incorporating a shear stress transducer was used. The data were evaluated using spectral analysis, and results are presented mainly in the form of shear stress versus shear rate loops.