EFFECTS OF CULTIVAR AND GROWTH SEASON ON THE GELATINIZATION PROPERTIES OF CASSAVA (MANIHOT-ESCULENTA) STARCH

Starch was extracted from the roots of four different cassava cultivars (Manihot esculenta Crantz) grown in Colombia and harvested on four different occasions with a view to determining whether there was any relationship between the physicochemical properties of the starch and the texture of the cooked roots. The organoleptic quality of the cooked roots was evaluated by a trained taste panel and found to vary in terms of both their glassy texture and their hardness. Studies of the gelatinisation behaviour of the starches by DSC and amylography (with a Brabender amylograph), of the pasting properties by viscography and of the viscoelastic characteristics by a Bohlin rheometer demonstrated some differences between the physicochemical properties of the starches but insufficient to account for the pronounced textual differences.