Project
A model study of the impact of sugar solutions on starch structural transitions during heating, cooling and storage
Starch is the principal carbohydrate reservoir in many staple food sources such as wheat, rice and
cassava and a major source of energy for mankind. The preparation of many starch-containing
foods such as bread and cakes involves heating in the presence of water and subsequent cooling
and storage. These unit operations cause starch to respectively gelatinize, gel and retrograde and
determine the unique textural attributes of the food product. Non-starch ingredients (such as
sugars in cake and dessert products) have a major impact on the extent to which these structural
transitions occur. However, current viewpoints on the impact of sugars on the structural
transitions which starch undergoes during heating in water, subsequent cooling and storage, are
inconclusive and inconsistent. The novelty of the present project resides in the joint use of realtime
differential scanning calorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray and neutron scattering
methodologies, which will provide thermodynamic as well as mechanistic insights in the structural
transitions of starch in the presence of sugar solutions. The technological relevance of this work
stems from the possibility to utilize the acquired knowledge in the preparation of – amongst
others - cakes, pie fillings or puddings.