Abstract:
Starch is a major ingredient used in food the industry as binder, colloidal stabilizer, coating
material, thickening agent, gelling agent, etc. Starch can be extracted from cereals,
legumes, kernels, root and tubers. Yam is under the root and tuber that contain high
content of starch but limitedly use for starch extraction, however, commonly consume
after boiling or cooking as an energy supplier. The present study aimed to evaluate the
properties of starch extracted from five different yam varieties, namely Nattala, Maha
Hingurala, Agili ala, Jamburala (Dioscorea alata) and Raul Kukulala (Dioscorea esculanta).
These varieties were collected from the same place, Rambukkana. Further, this study
analyzed their binding properties and potential to improve the texture of chicken
sausage as a replacement for cassava (Manihot esculenta) starch. Cassava exhibited the
highest starch yield (33.21% (w/v)), while Jamburala yielded the lowest (7.62% (w/v)).
Starch extracted from selected yams showed various results for swelling power range
from 14.30±0.20 to 7.03±0.23, solubility index ranges from 1.87±0.01 to 0.98±0.01, and
viscosity ranges from 14.62±0.02 to 8.56±0.01 mPas. Sausages made with yam starches
were analyzed for hardness, chewiness, cohesiveness, and gumminess. Jamburala
starch sausages closely resembled cassava starch sausages in these properties. Further,
Agili ala starch incorporated sausage showed a soft texture and the cohesiveness is not
significantly difference (p>0.05) to the Jamburala starch, while other starches showed
significant differences (p<0.05). These findings have been confirmed by the sensory
evaluation as all types of yam starches can be used as a binder of manufacturing of
chicken sausage. Overall, results revealed that starch extracted from Jamburala yam
can be used for manufacturing chicken sausage with the similar properties of cassava
starch.
