Rheological and tribological characterization of different commercial hazelnut-based spreads

Five commercial hazelnut/cocoa spreads with different compositions were tested by rheology/tribology. The impact of each formulation on the structural/lubricant performances was investigated. Rotational/oscillatory rheology was chosen to assess material behavior during flow. Viscosity variation as a function of temperature and chamber geometry was evaluated. Oscillatory mode tests were carried out to obtain information on product viscoelasticity. Tribological analysis was performed at different temperatures aiming at simulating the chewing/swallowing process. All samples were categorized as pseudo-plastic and viscoelastic materials, with the elastic component prevailing over the viscous one. Major differences were detected in terms of consistency index, depending on the total lipid content. Temperature increase enhanced spread fluidity with a decreasing viscosity according to the Arrhenius model (R²  > 0.942) and greater values of activation energy reflecting higher sensitivity to microstructural changes. An inverse relationship between Casson viscosity $$ and sugar/fat ratio highlighted additional correlations between structural parameters and spread formulation. Tribological measurements at 25°C highlighted that, at the initial eating stage, the friction factor (0.112-0.262 at sliding velocity of 8 × 10^-6  m/s) was strongly affected by either the amounts of solid fat or hazelnut percentage. Tribological data corroborated the theory for which tribology and rheology cover different domains.