Physical Properties and Sensory Attributes of Japanese Sweets “YATSUHASHI ” Made with Sago Starch

Abstract

 With the aim of identifying new uses of sago starch in cooking, this starch was used as an ingredient of YATSUHASHI, substituting for part of the required rice flour (JYOSHIN and SHIRATAMA). The potential usage of sago starch was further examined by researching its effect on the physical properties and sensory attributes YATSUHASHI dough heated up in a microwave.
 When compared to SHIRATAMA flour, JYOSHIN flour was more difficult to gelatinize and resulted in a firmer and stickier gel. As the amount of substituted sago starch was increased, a harder gel was created with both JYOSHIN flour and SHIRATAMA flour. On the other hand, in regards to viscosity, when 30 % of JYOSHIN flour and 50 % of SHIRATAMA flour were substituted with sago starch, the adhesiveness significantly increased. These results suggest that, if the combined amount of rice flour and sago starch is modified, and considering that adhesiveness and hardness are the desired outcome of rice flour products, a harder and stickier rice flour product could be created.
 In regards to sensory evaluation, when 50 % or 70 % of JYOSHIN flour was replaced with sago starch, differences in color, firmness, and elasticity were discovered, and a more favorable final product was achieved. The positive effects of using sago starch in YATSUHASHI are clearly shown by these results.