Effect of Different Ultrasonic Amplitude Treatments on Corn Starch Gels

In this study, the effects of different amplitudes at high power ultrasound of 20 kHz on the syneresis and textural properties of corn starch suspensions were examined. Suspensions were treated with 10, 30, and 70% amplitude for 30 min using an ultrasound probe. While ultrasound treatments caused syneresis, no syneresis was observed in the control gel. It was observed that the rate of syneresis decreased with the increase of the ultrasound amplitude percentage, and also increased significantly after 48 h of storage. The ultrasound treatments caused a significant lowering of the gel mechanical properties. In particular, the decrease of ultrasound amplitude made the gels more brittle, it also caused the rupture and gel strength to decrease. The results obtained in this study showed that ultrasound technology can be used to adjust the gel strength of corn starch solutions used in food and other industries.