**Author details**

Ioanna G. Mandala *Agricultural University Athens, Dept. Food Science and Technology, Greece* 

#### **8. References**

232 Viscoelasticity – From Theory to Biological Applications

hydrocolloids' systems.

successful food product development.

effects, specifically those of amylopectin.

heating (microwaves) is used.

this field will be continued.

**Author details** 

Ioanna G. Mandala

*Greece* 

bath.

**7. Conclusions** 

 Viscocelastic behavior of soups is similar to that of simple hydrocolloid-starch systems. However, viscous–like behavior is more pronounced in final soups than in starch-

 Thawing under heating of frozen ready to eat starch white sauces results in improved rheological characteristics of the final samples. In particular, thawing under microwaves leads to better products than those being thawed in a water

In this chapter oscillatory rheological data are presented to highlight the structural changes of starch suspensions during heating and further storage. Furthermore, the viscoelastic behavior of different starch types with selected hydrocolloids is presented in order to understand and control rheology in food processing. Moreover, the rheological behavior of starch-hydrocolloid mixtures is described in complex systems, they contain them that aim at

Starches undergo significant changes under heating that are related to structural changes and can be determined using small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) tests. In many research works these tests are also combined with rapid visco analyser (RVA measurements), viscosity

Hydrocolloids alter the viscoelastic character of starch pastes and different mechanisms are proposed, some of them based on their interactions with starch polymers. Hydrocolloids are found in the continuous phase of the starch pastes changing the effective concentration of starch in the final mixtures. They can also immobilize the water available, or they can interact with starch polymers. Pastes containing hydrocolloids may be less structured and less solid-like than the control pastes. Specific interest presents their role in gelation and retrogradation, since they are considered anti-staling agents and can prohibit retrogradation

Controlled rheological properies can be achieved by changing hydrocolloid-starch mixtures in selected products such as sauces, soups and caramel sauces, e.g. the final quality of native starches white sauces can be maintained when appropriate thawing process under fast

New kinds of hydrocolloids are going to be used and starch role especially that of native starches is re-defined. The interest about such systems is going to increase and research on

values, texture analyses, microscopic observations, DSC thermographs.

*Agricultural University Athens, Dept. Food Science and Technology,* 


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Viscoelastic Properties of Starch and Non-Starch Thickeners in Simple Mixtures or Model Food 235

Mandala I. G., Michon C. & Launay B. (2004a). Phase and rheological behaviors of xanthan/amylose and xanthan/starch mixed systems. Carbohydrate Polymers 58, pp.

Mandala I.G., Savvas T.P., Kostaropoulos A.E. (2004b). Xanthan and locust bean gum influence on the rheology and structure of a white model-sauce. Journal of Food

Mc Clemments D.J. (2006). Non-covalent interactions between proteins and polysaccharides.

Matia-Merino L. & Ravindran G. (2009). Starch–fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) polysaccharide interactions in pure and soup systems, Food Hydrocolloids, 23(3), pp.

Rosell C.M., YokoyamaW. & Shoemaker C. (2011). Rheology of different hydrocolloids-rice starch blends. Effect of successive heating-cooling cycles. Carbohydrate Polymers 84,

Ross-Murphy S.B. (1984). *Rheological methods, Biophysical Methods in Food Research*. vol.5 (H.W.-S. Chan, ed.) SCI Critical Reports on Applied Chemistry, Blackwell, Oxford, pp.

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Funami T. (2011). Next target for food hydrocolloid studies: Texture design of foods using

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	- Wang Y., Wang L.-J., Li D., Ozkan N., Chen X. D. & Mao Z.-H. (2008). Effect of flaxseed gum addition on rheological properties of native maize starch. Journal of Food Engineering 89, pp. 87-92

**Chapter 11** 

© 2012 Platt-Lucero et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2012 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

**Viscoelastic and Textural** 

Luis Carlos Platt-Lucero, Benjamín Ramírez-Wong, Patricia Isabel Torres-Chávez and Ignacio Morales-Rosas

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

products and absence of effluents (Harper 1989).

nutritional characteristics of tortillas (Aguirre-Cruz et al. 2005).

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/49975

**1. Introduction** 

**Characteristics of Masa and Tortilla from** 

**Extruded Corn Flours with Xanthan Gum** 

Corn plays an important role in the diet of many countries, especially México (Serna-Saldivar et al 1990), where corn tortilla is the principal ancestral food, and its consumption per capita is approximately 120 kg (Martínez et al. 2004). Corn tortilla can be produced with fresh masa using the traditional nixtamalization process, or with instant nixtamalized corn flour (Arámbula et al. 1999). Both processes result in industrial effluents known as nejayote (Serna-Saldivar 1996). An alternative process to avoid such contamination is extrusion which is defined as a continous process in which mechanical cutting is combined with heat to obtain gelatinization of the starch and denaturation of the proteins. It yields a plastified and restructured product with new shapes and textures. Some of the characteristics for which extrusion has gained popularity are versatility, reduced costs, high productivity, high-quality products, different product shapes, energy efficiency, and generation of new

Extrusion has been utilized as a continuous process of nixtamalization to produce instant flour, then to make corn tortillas, giving good product such as that of fresh masa obtained from the traditional process (Arámbula et al. 1998; Arámbula et al. 2002; Galicia 2005; González 2006; Martínez-Flores et al. 1998; Milán-Carrillo et al. 2006; Reyes-Moreno et al. 2003). However, during its storage, tortilla became hard and diminishes in flexibility. This can be due to fact that after its preparation starch reorganizes, and as a consequence produce crystalline structures, which is known as retrogradation, altering the texture and

To improve and preserve the quality of tortillas made from nixtamalized corn flour during their storage, new alternative have been studied. Among these alternatives is the use of

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Whistler R.L. & BeMiller J. N. (1997). Carbohydrate Chemistry for Food Scientists. St. Paul, MN: Eagan Press ,pp. 117-164
