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

Texture change can be achieved by adding hydrocolloids that in small quantities bind large amounts of water and can then control both structure and texture. Starches belong to the same category of hydrocolloids, although they are used in a wide range of products either as raw materials or as food additives. Starches can differ with respect to the amylose content depending on their origin, or can be structurally modified. Native starches could have negative aspects such as gel syneresis, retrogradation, breakdown, cohesive, rubbery pastes and undesirable gels formation (Whistler & BeMiller, 1997), but this is not the case with modified starches. Moreover, modified food starches are less expensive and are more widely available than gums or other food stabilizers. A way to overcome shortcomings of native starches is their blending with polysaccharide hydrocolloids. Native or modified starches, and non-starch hydrocolloids are increasingly important ingredients in the modern health-conscious food industry (Techawipharat et al., 2008), considering that specific starch types such as resistant starch can be considered insoluble fibers as well.