Electrical conductivity of starch suspension during ohmic heating was applied to analyze the starch gelatinization process. Native starches from wheat, corn, rice, potato, sweet potato, and pea were prepared on a starch to water ratio of 1:3 (w/w) with adding 0.05 M potassium chloride. A laboratory scale ohmic heating setup was designed to heat the starch suspension from room temperature to 90°C at a controlled heating rate of 10°C/min operating at 50 Hz and 110 V. The results show that starch gelatinization temperatures could be precisely calculated from electrical conductivity of starch suspension during ohmic heating process. The starch gelatinization temperatures based on ohmic heating were comparable to those measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Highly significant correlation of onset temperature (R=0.9972) and peak temperature (R=0.9950) were observed. The ohmic heating method could provide an alternative way to DSC with a promising potential for on-line and rapid evaluation of starch gelatinization temperatures.
