Morphological, Thermal and Physicochemical Properties of Starches from Squash (Cucurbita maxima) and Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata)

The properties of starches isolated from two squash cultivars (Cucurbita maxima) were studied and compared with those of two pumpkin cultivars (Cucurbita moschata) and one normal potato cultivar. The amylose content of pumpkin and squash starches ranged from 16.18% to 21.29%. The pumpkin and squash starches appeared as a mixture of spherical, polyhedral and dome shaped granules. The pumpkin and squash starch pastes had pasting temperature of 63.3°C-70.9C. The enthalpy of gelatinization of starches from pumpkin and squash range from 9.73 J/g-13.58 J/g. The pumpkin and squash starches exhibited the B-type X-ray diffraction pattern. The swelling power and solubility of squash starch increased with the rise of temperature, which were lower than potato starch. The hardness, adhesiveness and chewiness of squash starch were lower than potato starch, while the cohesiveness and recoverability of squash starch was higher than potato starch.