Improvement in Freeze‐Thaw Stability of Rice Starch by Soybean Protein Hydrolysates‐Xanthan Gum Blends and its Mechanism

Abstract To improve the freeze‐thaw stability of rice starch (RS), the soybean protein hydrolysates (SPHs), xanthan gum (XG), and the blends of SPHs with XG (SPHs‐XG) are added. The syneresis, thermal, texture, rheological properties, and morphological features of samples during seven freeze‐thaw cycles (FTCs) are investigated by syneresis measurement, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), textural properties analysis (TPA), dynamic rheological, NMR, and SEM. As a result, SPHs‐XG is more effective for improving the freeze‐thaw stability and showed improved structure manifestations with the lower retrogradation rate (22.78%), hardness (153.29 g), gumminess (54.57), and solid‐like structure ( p < 0.05). Moreover, the water‐holding capacity is increased and the microstructure is effectively stabilized. All these results suggested that SPHs‐XG could be a potential ingredient to improve the quality of rice starch‐based frozen foods.