Week 8 Flashcards
Amylose
Amylose is a molecule that comprises starch molecules. It is not branched unlike amylopectin. It is linear and forms helices. Strong association of hydrogen bonds causes recrystallize when amylose is leached out of a gel and cooled. This creates a stronger gel.
The more amylose in a starch, the darker blue the starch will dye with iodine
Amylopectin
Amylopectin is a highly branched polysaccharide that forms a soft gel upon starch heating. It is a component of starch molecules
Starch granules
A starch granule is comprised of an outer hull or shell with starch molecules inside. The starch molecules, namely amylose and amylopectin, arrange themselves into some form of crystallization bound with hydrogen bonds. These granules are able to take on water and swell as heat is added and the hydrogen bonds break. The outer shell is able to swell to a critical point, after which the granule bursts and it releases some of the amylose starch into solution. Different starch granules have different shapes and swelling behaviors. Some starches like tapioca, can absorb water and swell to the critical point in just cold water without any heat. Other starches like potato starch require heat to absorb water but they create a very viscous solution.
Waxy starch
Waxy starches have lower amounts of amylose in them. They are able to form high paste viscosities but weak gels because there is little to no starch retrogradation.
Normal starch
Normal starches contain mostly amylopectin and 15-30% amylose. These starches usually require heat to swell and paste and can retrograded to form a stiffer gel.
Birefringent
This is the property of polarized light to shine through a starch granule that has not yet burst. When the starch granule does burst, the polarized light behaves differently and refracts off of the broken shell, leaving a shadowed cross on the granules.
Gelatinization
This refers to the phenomenon of polysaccharides, especially starches, forming a solid matrix which traps large amounts of liquids in the interstitial spaces. Some very specific conditions may be requires such as a heated solution, high sugar, low pH, more cations, etc. The process of gelatinization can be thermo sensitive meaning the gel can break down when heat is added after the gel is formed.
Retrogradation
This happens when amylose which has been leached out during the gelatinization process begins to recrystallize as the solution cools. The amylopectin creates a soft gel initially, but the amylose comes in afterwards and can create quite a firm gel. The amylose retrogradation happen quite quickly and soon after a product is made. Amylopectin however can also retrograde but does so much more slowly. This is what happens in break. The junction zones on the amylopectin continually get larger and larger as time goes on and this squeezes out water and dehydrates the product, causing things like bread to go stale.
Gelation/gel
The gelling property of a starch happens first when friction is increased between the swelling granules. This creates an increase in viscosity. The second stage of gelation occurs after the granules begin to burst. The amylose is released and begins to retrograde. The amylopectin also reacts and creates junction zones that form a gel.
Syneresis
This happens during retrogradation where the starch molecules try to recrystallize and cause the junction zones to grow longer and longer; zipping up like a zipper. This causes water molecules to be squeezed out in the process and they then evaporate. This causes the product to dehydrate and separation can occur like with yogurt. It is not usually desirable
freeze-thaw stability
The freeze-thaw stability of a gel refers to its ability to to be frozen and then thawed and still retain its gel structure. Xanthan gum is an example of a polysaccharide that has good structural integrity even after it has been thawed and frozen. this stability relates to the gums ability to retain bonds with itself and other polysaccharides rather than bind with water molecules.
cross-linked starch
+++Cross linked starches are modified starches that have improved thermal stability and strength. The cross linking happens when a polysaccharide polymer is bonded to another polymer.
Stabilized starch
+++A stabilized starch is a starch that has been stabilized using food modification processed. The stabilization is essentially pretreating the starch hull to make sure that it wont break as quickly and unpredictably when it is heated. this leads to predictable swelling and hydration behavior
Acid-thinned starch
+++Acid thinned starches have been hydrolyzed using acids. This results in a starch with less viscosity
Pregelatinized/cold-water swelling starch
Pregelatinized starches are made by swelling the starch granules to the the point where they have become nearly fully hydrated and swollen and then drying them down to a powder. This allows them to take on water when added to cold water and they will thicken those mixtures.