A multilevel and multianalytical approach, combining both traditional and unconventional analytical tools, was used to characterize two physically modified (heated and heated-extruded) corn flours to be used as a “clean label” food ingredient. Physical treatments decreased the resistant starch content and increased the water holding capacity and water binding capacity, more extensively in the product subjected to heating-extrusion, as compared to an untreated control. Heated-extruded flour had the highest ability to form homogeneous systems in cold water while all modified flours produced homogeneous systems when mixed with hot water. Systems made with heated-extruded flour were “more rigid” than other samples at all levels of investigation as they were harder (macroscopic) and had higher storage modulus (mesoscopic), as well as lower proton ¹H mobility (molecular). Overall, the results highlighted the ability of the multiscale method to give a thorough overview of the flour–water interactions and showed highest water affinity of heated-extruded flour. Heated-extruded flour was then tested in three real-food industrial applications (carrot soup, tomato sauce and a meat patty), where it was successfully implemented as a clean label thickening agent.

中文翻译：

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用多尺度表征探索物理修饰的玉米粉作为清洁标签增稠剂的功能。

结合传统和非常规分析工具的多层次，多分析方法，用于表征两种经过物理改性（加热和加热挤压）的玉米粉，以用作“清洁标签”食品成分。与未处理的对照相比，物理处理降低了在经受加热挤出的产品中淀粉的抗性淀粉含量并增加了保水能力和水结合能力。加热挤压的面粉在冷水中形成均质体系的能力最高，而所有改性面粉在与热水混合时均能形成均质体系。在所有研究水平上，由加热挤压的面粉制成的系统都比其他样品“更坚硬”，因为它们更硬（宏观），储能模量（介观）和质子更低¹ H迁移率（分子）。总体而言，结果强调了多尺度方法能够全面概述面粉与水的相互作用，并显示出加热挤压面粉的最高水亲和力。然后将加热挤压的面粉在三种实际食品的工业应用（胡萝卜汤，番茄酱和肉馅饼）中进行了测试，并成功地将其用作清洁标签增稠剂。