The use of modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry for the characterisation of food systems

Modulated temperature Differential Scanning Calorimetry (MTDSC) is used to characterise food systems. It is shown that by splitting the total heat flow into reversing (related to heat capacity) and non-reversing contributions, overlapping thermal events can be separated. The combination of excellent sensitivity and high resolution provides more accurate results for weak and/or broad transitions. The thermal transitions of maltotriose, maltohexaose and thermoplastic starch are treated as examples. It is also shown that MTDSC is very useful to follow in situ slow crystallisation processes. These structural changes are detected by measuring the heat capacity in the quasi-isothermal mode. The (quasi-)isothermal crystallisation of pregelatinised waxy corn starch is given as an example. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.