Effects of taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott) drying on the properties of taro flour and taro flour products

We examined the effect of taro drying processes on the properties of taro flour and taro flour products. Taro flour produced by blast-drying with hot air was characterized by the formation of aggregated starch granules during storage. Consequently, pastes made from blast-dried flour exhibited higher hardness and adhesiveness than pastes made from fresh taro. Pastes made from freeze-dried flour exhibited similar increases in hardness and adhesiveness due to the formation of aggregated starch granules during heating. Starch granules did not aggregate in flour that was blast-dried after heating, and the hardness and adhesiveness of pastes were lower than those of fresh taro. Bread substituted with 10 % blast-dried flour after heating exhibited softening and increased cohesiveness. The results demonstrated that the drying processes of taro flour have a marked effect on the texture of products by affecting the aggregation and swelling of starch granules.