Effect of the extent of pasting on the dynamic rheological properties of acidified skim milk gels containing normal rice starch

The dynamic rheological behaviour of skim milk gels containing 2% normal rice starch granules pasted to different temperatures was investigated. The extent of swelling of the starch granules was also measured. It was found that the complex modulus G* was maximal when the starch granules were pasted to the temperature of maximum swelling and not to the temperature of maximum viscosity. It is suggested that, in these systems, the starch granules behave as inactive fillers and that their main effect is to increase the milk protein concentration during swelling by absorbing water from the continuous phase. A simple empirical model that agrees qualitatively well with the experimental results is proposed.