Effect of temperature on the relationship between moisture content and dynamic rheological properties of Korean honey

Dynamic rheological properties of 27 Korean honeys with various moisture contents (16.2-20.1%) were evaluated at different temperatures (-5, 0, 5, 10, and 20°C) and were then correlated with moisture content. Dynamic moduli increased with a decrease in temperature while their predominant increases were noticed at -5°C. The relationships between moisture content and dynamic moduli seem to be influenced by temperature, and their correlations increased in the following order: -5>0>5 >10>20°C, showing greater determination coefficients (R²=0.942-0.966) at -5°C as compared to the other temperatures. In particular, the G" at sub-zero temperatures had a better correlation (R²=0.965-0.966) than G' (R²= 0.899-0.942), indicating that the viscous property more closely correlated with moisture content as compared to the elastic property. This suggests that G" determined at subzero temperatures can be useful for estimating the quality of honey. Keywords: honey,