Physicochemical Properties of Various Starches and Flours and the Effect of Quinoa Flour on Composite Gel Texture

This research aimed to investigate the chemical composition and physicochemical properties of tapioca starch, mung bean starch, rice flour, and quinoa flour, as well as the textural characteristics of quinoa composite flour gels prepared from these four ingredients. The flour mixtures studied had weight ratios of 16:8:26:0, 16:8:23:3 and 16:8:20:6, respectively. The results showed that quinoa flour had the highest protein and fat contents at 21.86% and 9.17%, respectively. Mung bean starch exhibited the highest amylose content at 33.76%, whereas quinoa flour had the lowest amylose content at 13.75%. Increasing temperature resulted in higher swelling power and solubility for all starches and flours. Tapioca starch and mung bean starch showed greater swelling power than rice flour and quinoa flour in the temperature range of 75–95°C, while quinoa flour exhibited the highest solubility. Rice flour had the highest gelatinization temperature (Tp), whereas quinoa flour required the lowest gelatinization enthalpy (∆H). Regarding pasting properties, quinoa flour had the lowest breakdown and setback value, at 3.22 RVU and 11.78 RVU, respectively. Among the individual starch and flour gels, tapioca starch gel had the lowest hardness. The analysis of the physical properties of gel prepared from composite flour revealed that replacing rice flour with quinoa flour tended to decrease gel hardness.