Preface
In 2020, the spread of COVID-19 caused major changes in the scientific world. While the movement of people was restrained, the number of contributions increased unprecedentedly in 2020, and vol. 34 became a fulfilling content. Although the difficult situation will continue in 2021, we would like to make vol. 35 more fulfilling.
Vol. 35 (1) will be published as a special issue. We invited Prof. Miki Yoshimura as a guest editor for this special issue. We plan to publish No. 2 or No. 3 depending on the number of submission after autumn. Please do not hesitate to submit your excellent research work.
Editor-in-Chief
Isamu Kaneda, PhD, Professor Rakuno Gakuen University, Japan
Preface for special issue on
“Physics and Molecular Gastronomy of Starch gels”
Starch is one of the most important food hydrocolloids. Starch is produced in most countries at a low cost and find wide-spread application in the food industry. It is widely used as a thickener, gelling agent, stabilizer, and commercially fat replacer in various food products. Recently, physically and chemically modified starches are developed and are available.
Starch granules are semi-crystalline particles composed of amylose and amylopectin. Gelatinization of starch with suffi-cient water occurs at a particular temperature. Gelatinization involves irreversible swelling of starch granules, with loss of molecular order, followed by solubilization of amylose. Retrogradation of starch proceeds in two crystallization stages. At first, rigidity and crystallization of starch gels develop quickly as a result of amylose gelation. Second, crystallization develops slowly in its amylopectin region. Gelatinized starch is easily digestible, while retrograded starch is less digestible. Recently, resistant starch, which is less digestible and has lower energy, has been used in foods.
This special issue covers the physics of starch gels and the application of cooking and gastronomy.
The special issue consists of one original paper and three review papers. We would like to thank all authors for under-standing the aim of the special issue and making excellent contributions. We hope that the special issue will promote a deeper understanding of the role that starch plays in the physical properties of prepared and processed foods.
We gratefully acknowledge the extraordinary effort of the reviewers and continuous support from the editorial board members.
Guest Editor
Miki Yoshimura, PhD, Professor University of Hyogo, Japan
