Abstract

SALINAS-MORENO, Yolanda; CASTILLO-LINARES, Erika Belem; VAZQUEZ-CARRILLO, María Gricelda  and  BUENDIA-GONZALEZ, María Ofelia. Blends of waxy with normal maize and their effect on tortilla quality. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2011, vol.2, n.5, pp.689-702. ISSN 2007-0934.

Maize tortillas are hardened during storage due to starch retrogradation. A practice to retard this phenomenon is to add gums to the flour or seize the amylopectin's slow retrogradation. The effect of mixtures of regular maize (H-40) and waxy maize was studied on dough characteristics and on tortilla quality. The dough's paste-forming properties were determined and tortillas were evaluated for moisture, color, rollability, extensibility and tensile strength. The variables were measured for three days of storage at room temperature (21 ^oC). The tortillas made with 100% waxy corn and 100% corn (H-40), were used as control. A higher proportion of 30% of waxy maize in the mix, led to dough with very bad handling characteristics (too sticky) and viscosities below the normal control and the treatment with 30% of waxy maize. The moisture content of tortillas was not affected by the inclusion of waxy maize in the mix, but the color did, its brightness decreased and the tortillas appearance was more crystalline as it increased the proportion of waxy maize. This increase was associated with lower tensile breaking strength and greater extensibility in freshly prepared tortillas (2 h). But after 24 h of storage, those tortillas which were harder and less extensible were those containing higher proportion of waxy maize (60, 85 and 100%). Rollability presented a pattern similar to the texture. However, in reheated tortillas, the best features of softness and extensibility were observed in tortillas prepared with 30% of waxy maize in the mix.

Keywords : amylopectin; amylose; texture; tortilla; waxy maize.

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