STRUCTURE AND MORPHOLOGY OF BAKED STARCH FOAMS

Baked starch foams were characterized by several physical methods in o rder to better understand the relationship between profess parameters and starch foam structure. In this process, a thin-walled object such as a plate is formed by heating a starch batter inside a closed mould. Normal corn and potato starches are gelatinized by this treatment but some swollen granules remain. The foams have a dense outer skin and a less dense interior with large, mostly open cells. Overall foam densi ty and strength increase with increasing starch concentration, molecul ar weight and amylose content. Foam flexibility tends to increase with decreasing density. Plates made from tuber starches such as potato ha ve lower densities and higher flexibilities than those made from cerea l starches such as corn. Starch foams are useful as disposable food pa ckaging and serving articles which can be composted after use. (C) 199 8 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.