Effect of temperature profile after cooking on the texture of high-amylose rice flour jelly

Abstract

A dysphagia diet consists of texture-modified food for people with swallowing disturbances. Pureed rice porridge is prepared as a staple food for the dysphagia diet by homogenizing the porridge and solidifying it with gelling agents; however, much time and effort is required to prepare this porridge. Rice flour prepared from high-amylose rice forms a soft gel that is easy to swallow when boiled with 10 times its weight with water and then cooled. The soft jelly made from high-amylose rice flour may simplify the preparation of pureed rice porridges. Texture of starch gel depends on concentration and temperature, which need to be controlled to prepare rice flour porridge correctly. To determine the appropriate amount of rice flour and temperature conditions, the texture of the rice flour jelly was tested at various temperatures after cooking. Significant positive correlation between the amount of rice flour used and firmness of the prepared rice flour jelly was observed at 4°C, 24°C, and 45°C. The appropriate weight of rice flour when cooked for one meal was 9.1%(w/w). Rice flour jelly prepared at a concentration of 9.1%(w/w) maintained an appropriate texture and could be used as a dysphagia diet, whether it was cooled naturally at room temperature, stored at 65°C, or cooled at 4°C and reheated after cooling. These results suggest that the texture of rice flour jelly can be adjusted according to the ability to swallow in individuals with dysphagia by controlling not only the concentration of rice flour, but also the temperature.