Development and characterization of thickeners using natural materials

摘要

For elderly individuals with swallowing difficulties, texture-modified food containing thickeners is needed. The plant materials ffeeze-dried yam, lotus root, and artichoke were evaluated for their potential use as thickeners and compared to a commercial thickener (corresponding to 0.5, 1, or 2 bag viscosity, respectively). Yam powder showed a high peak viscosity, corresponding to that of rice starch. Although artichoke showed no pasting viscosity, it may be useful as a thickener when combined with xanthan gum. The certain amount of yam, lotus root, and artichoke powders added to commercial soup showed similar viscosities as the addition of 0.5 or 1 bag commercial thickener at 60°C. However, sufficient viscosity corresponding to that of 2 bags of commercial thickener was not achieved by using the plant material itself. Sensory tests by elderly subjects revealed that the soup with yam powder was preferred compared to soup made with other materials.