Starch in food

A comprehensive reference guide on a major food ingredient - its formation and sources, its modification and analysis, and its applications and role in our health

Starch occurs widely in foods, both as a natural component and as an ingredient. The variety of starches available, the ease with which it can be modified, and its use in novel technologies such as micro-encapsulation gives it great versatility and allows the extensive manipulation of product properties. This has made starch popular amongst product developers. It is also nutritionally important, as a source of energy and carbohydrate, and with the indigestible component contributing to food bulk and dietary fibre. This books looks at these many aspects of starch and, in so doing, provides an extensive reference guide to its chemistry, functional properties, analysis and role in the diet.

The book is in four themed parts. Part I looks at the basic chemistry of starch and its formation before describing how it can be analysed and modified. Part II then considers in turn the major sources of starch, their functional properties and how these vary. Part III takes this further by looking at specific applications of starches in food production and product development while Part IV looks at the physiological aspects of starch in the diet and its role in health. The book is aimed at and will be of use to anyone in the food industry with an interest in starch, its chemistry, its uses, and its nutritional role.

Contents

Part I - Analysing and modifying starch

• Plant starch synthesis
• Analysing starch structure
• Starch bioengineering
• Starch-acting enzymes
• Understanding starch structure and functionality
• Measuring starch in food

Part II - Sources of starch

• The functionality of wheat starch
• Developments in potato starches
• The functionality of rice starch
• New corn starches
• Tropical sources of starch

Part III - Applications

• Starch as an ingredient: manufacture and applications
• Utilising starch in product development
• Modified starches and the stability of frozen foods
• Starch-lipid interactions and their relevance in food products
• Starch-based microencapsulation

Part IV - Starch and health

• Development of a range of industrialised cereal-based foodstuffs high in slowly digestible starch
• Starch: physical and mental performance
• Detecting nutritional starch fractions
• Resistant starch
• Analysing starch digestion

Hardback book - 605 pages