The effects of sucrose on the sol-gel phase transition and viscoelastic properties of potato starch solutions

In this paper, starch pastes in the form of solutions and gels were investigated to determine viscoelastic properties and sol-gel phase transition temperatures using rheological methods. The gelatinization process was carried out at a temperature of 95 °C with the use of a pressureless starch cell with a stirrer. Starch pastes obtained were used to determine rheological properties under isothermal conditions (in the temperature range of 45–25 °C) by a cone-plate measurement system. The viscoelastic behavior of the tested medium was confirmed. The range of gelation temperatures was determined and the influence of several factors was discussed, e.g. the effect of sucrose addition and cooling rate on the phenomenon of sol-gel phase transition. In addition, mechanical properties of the obtained starch gel structures were determined using a fractional rheological model.