Digestibility prediction of cooked plantain flour as a function of water content and temperature

Abstract The effect of temperature ( T  = 55–120 °C) and water content ( X 1  = 1.4–2.0 kg kg −1 dry basis) on the gelatinization and digestibility of plantain flour (Dominico Harton genotype) were investigated. The degree of plantain starch gelatinization ( α ) was measured by DSC and modelled as a function of T and X 1 , using the Weibull model. Rapidly digestible starch ( RDS ) and resistant starch ( RS ) fractions were evaluated for different α values. An appropriate dimensionless variable was introduced to the analyzed and modelled RDS and RS as a function of α . Starch gelatinization begins at a temperature above 59.6 ± 0.5 °C and α is strongly dependent on T in non-limiting water conditions. The combined effects of T and X 1 on the RDS and RS can be explained by α . We demonstrate that various heat treatments and water contents lead to the same α , with the same RDS and RS values.