A particle cohort study (ParCS) of the impact of glucose and sucrose solutions on the kinetics of starch gelatinization

Using a Particle Cohort Study (ParCS) apparatus, the swelling kinetics of individual granules for sweet potato, corn, tapioca, and A-type wheat starches were investigated in water, glucose, and sucrose solutions. Building on previous work that introduced an empirical swelling function for four pulse starches, and previous modeling efforts, we extended the analysis to a broader range of starch types and solute environments to explore gelatinization at the single-granule level. For the first time, we found that while the swelling curves can be collapsed onto a master curve with only four model parameters (as shown previously) the shape of the resulting master curves are starch-type dependent and insensitive to these solution conditions. We further showed that swelling rate and intra-sample variability to be intrinsic to starch type and also insensitive to these solution conditions. Also for the first time, we made measurements of the diffusion of water into individual starch granules and found it to be three orders of magnitude lower than what was assumed in previous modeling. Finally, we showed that a previously proposed prediction of the correlation between swelling time and swelling ratio is not born out by our data. Altogether, these insights provide a major advance in our understanding of starch behavior in complex environments, and provide a foundation for improved predictive models in food processing where control over gelatinization is essential.