Effects of Xylitol on Physicochemical Properties of Glutinous Rice Flour and Quality of Glutinous Rice Dumplings

Xylitol with different content (0%~25%) was added to glutinous rice flour to construct a xylitol-glutinous rice flour blend system to investigate the effects of xylitol on the gelatinization properties, thermodynamic properties, gel texture, rheology properties and digestion properties of glutinous rice flour, as well as on the quality of rice dumpling made from xylitol-glutinous rice flour. The results showed that the addition of xylitol increased the gelatinization temperature, peak viscosity and final viscosity of the xylitol-glutinous rice flour, while reduced the degree of short-range order of xylitol-glutinous rice flour. The xylitol-glutinous rice flour system behaved as a pseudoplastic fluid with shear thinning behavior. Compared with the control group, when the addition of xylitol was 10%, the xylitol-glutinous rice flour blend system had the smallest retrogradation value and gel hardness, which were 405 cP and 14.952 g, respectively. At this time, the content of resistant starch in the system was 29.88%, showing good retrogradation resistance. However, high content of xylitol (15%~25%) promoted the short-term regeneration of the xylitol-glutinous rice flour blend system, increasing its regeneration value and elasticity. Furthermore, the addition of xylitol significantly reduced the water loss rate and juice permeability of rice dumpling made of xylitol glutinous rice flour. Rice dumpling made of glutinous rice flour with 10% xylitol had high hardness, elasticity, resilience and chewability, and its eating quality was the best. This study provides a theoretical and technical references for the improvement of the quality of glutinous rice flour through xylitol and the product development of glutinous rice flour.