Effect of amylopectin on the rheological properties of aqueous dispersions of starch–sodium palmitate complexes

Aqueous dispersions of normal and high-amylose corn starch were steam jet cooked and blended with aqueous solutions of sodium palmitate to give starch containing amylose–sodium palmitate inclusion complexes. Partial conversion of complexed sodium palmitate to palmitic acid by addition of acetic acid led to the formation of gels. Blends of inclusion complexes prepared from normal and high-amylose corn starch were used to vary the amylose:amylopectin ratio of the gels, and the linear viscoelastic moduli were found to decrease with decreasing amylose:amylopectin ratio. Precipitation of the complexed starch at low pH showed that most of the amylopectin was not part of the gel network. The elastic modulus of the gels was shown to decrease sharply between 74 and 85 °C, and the transition temperature increased strongly with decreasing amylose:amylopectin ratio.