Staling of cake prepared from rice flour and sticky rice flour

MiGao, prepared from rice flour and sticky rice flour, is a kind of steam cooked Chinese cake. Staling of MiGao resulted in loss in texture and eating quality. Moisture content, water activity, texture, differential scanning calorimetry thermograms and sensory quality of MiGao, were monitored and were found to be significantly affected by cake staling when stored at room temperature for up to 5 days. The moisture content decreased after 2 days of storage and during the following days the crumb moisture content remained practically unchanged. Firmness was developed mainly during the first day of storage, remained at a similar level from day 2 to 3 and increased slightly after the third day of storage. A decrease in sensory quality and acceptability of the MiGao was observed during storage. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to follow changes of starch retrogradation in MiGao crumb. Amylopectin recrystallisation in MiGao continued to increase during storage.