9
Rheological characterization of cassava starch
Authors: Ana Paula Cerino Coutinho, Cláudio Cabello
Number of views: 358
Starches are used as raw materials in many food industry products, mainly to add consistency. Worldwide, commercial starches come mainly from corn, potato, and cassava. Cassava starch is widely used in baby food products and puddings, but there is no published information available on the rheology of cassava starch solutions. This study evaluated the rheological properties of 6, 8, and 10% cassava starch gels at 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60ºC. Cassava starch gels were prepared using dry non-fat cassava starch, distilled water, and sodium hydroxide; this solution was mixed and heated to 55ºC. Rheological properties were measured using a Brookfield LVDVII+ concentric cylinder viscometer. The Power-law model gave a good description of shear stress, shear rate behavior, and how the gels behaved at different concentrations. Consistency index increased with increasing concentration and decreased with increasing temperature. Activation energy was determined using the Arrhenius equation.