Rheological study of breakfast replacing recipes used in the treatment of dysphagia

The rheological properties of a new breakfast concept for demented elderly are evaluated. Seven different recipes are compared, mainly consisting of milk, pudding, soft cheese, rusks and a taste ingredient. These recipes have a well-balanced nutritional profile and show an improved swallowing act for the patients. The rheological characteristics can be summarized as thixotropic, shear thinning and having gel-like behaviour. The thixotropic behaviour and the viscosity range are comparable with those of commercially available fluid thickeners. Although the seven recipes do not differ in the swallowing act of the patients, their characteristic viscosities are within a range of one order of magnitude. In addition, the same recipe prepared several times may yield statistically different viscosities as well. This is probably due to the high volume fraction of particles in the products. Standardization of the recipe preparation with respect to viscosity is therefore very difficult. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.