Superheated starch: A novel approach towards spreadable particle gels

When aqueous potato starch suspensions were heated into the solution state and cooled, spreadable particle gels were obtained with a spherulite morphology and a cream-like texture. This so-called superheated starch (SHS) exhibits more effective gelling properties than maltodextrin, which is currently applied as a fat mimetic. In addition, a gel-like texture is immediately obtained when mixing dry SHS with cold water. Other starch types showed similar properties. Gel moduli were higher as amylose content increased. A large-scale preparation procedure based on jet cooking and spray drying with or without intermediate gelation was devised. SHS was identified as a slightly to moderately degraded starch. The formation of particle gels with spherulitic morphology was observed over at least two decades of M-w from 0.06 to 16 x 10(6) g/mol. At higher molar mass, demixing between amylose and amylopectin was observed. These phenomena are tentatively explained by assuming a competition between demixing and crystallization. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.