Effect of Critical Melting Combined with Freeze-thawing Treatment on Physicochemical and Structural Properties of Cassava Starch/Konjac Gum Composite

In present study, cassava starch (CS) and konjac gum (KGM) were used as the raw materials, and critical melting combined with freeze-thawing (CMFT) was employed as the main treatment for the preparation of CS/KGM composites. The study aimed to investigate the effects of CMFT on the physicochemical and structural properties of CS/KGM composites. The results demonstrated that CMFT effectively facilitated the release of soluble starches, which significantly increased the interaction sites with KGM. The prepared composite had a significantly increased thermal stability (significantly decreased water solubility and swelling power), in which the onset melting temperature of the CS/KGM composite after CMFT was increased significantly from 64.13 ℃ (native) to 69.73 ℃ (0.7% KGM, P