Evaluating the Impact of Inulin Addition before Solar Drying on the Characteristics of Sour Cassava Starch as a Food Ingredient

Abstract

Sour cassava starch is obtained by spontaneous fermentation of the starch cake immediately after being extracted, followed by sun-drying, where oxidation reactions take place that are essential for the enhanced baking expansion of this starch. The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of adding a different polysaccharide to the starch cake before sun-drying in the characteristics of the obtained product. Inulin was chosen for being a soluble prebiotic fiber that might improve the nutritional quality of the starch. Inulin modified the oxidation of the fermented starch during sun-drying, and formed a film around the granules that hindered their swelling and water retention capacity. The crystallinity of the inulin was increased by hydration and sun-drying. Adding inulin to the fermented starch before sun-drying reduced its expansion capacity, but in a lower rate than when inulin was added after sun-drying. The fermented starch sun-dried with inulin produced a baked snack with similar texture to that of the sour starch alone, and softer than that from the native starch.