Effect of high intensity ultrasound on properties of starch pastes

Starch has an abundant use in the food industry because it is a thickening, stiffening or gluing agent. Also, nowadays there is an emphasis on the need to develop mild non thermal methods for food processing and in this view ultrasound has great potential. Therefore it is interesting to determine the effect of high intensity ultrasound on functional properties of the most common carbohydrate in the human diet. In this study we reviewed the effect of one and two minute treatment of rice and corn starch pastes with 24 kHz probe, 400 W of nominal output power, at 20%, 60% and 100% amplitude. The results showed that 60% and 100% ultrasound treatments increase the swelling power of starch pastes but increase the resistance to refrigeration of only corn starch pastes while leaving the rice starch paste unchanged. Apparent viscosity measured at three different temperatures, as well as the hardness of starch pastes differ depending on the conditions of the ultrasound treatment. By reviewing the influence of ultrasound on the starch pastes, it was determined that no deteriorating effect occurred and this treatment could be helpful for freezing of food stuffs.