• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.613-619
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• 2010

Three varieties of taro flours (Altoran, Josaengjong, and Jaeraejong) were analyzed to evaluate their nutrient composition and physicochemical properties. Moisture contents of the three taro cultivars varied from 5.74-10.30%. Among the three cultivars, Altoran flour had higher protein and fat contents than other cultivars. There were 17 kinds of amino acids in the three taro flours. The major fatty acids in the three taro flours were linoleic acid (46.5-51.4%), palmitic acid (21.7-25.8%), and oleic acid (12.3-18.7%), and two thirds of the total fatty acids were unsaturated fatty acids. Potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium were the most plentiful minerals in the three taro flours, and the free sugars were glucose, fructose, and sucrose. The total dietary fiber contents of the three taro flours ranged from 12.97 to 17.60%. From these results, Altoran contained a high level of dietary fiber, minerals, essential amino acids, and free sugars. Jaeraejong showed the highest water absorption index. The water soluble index of Altoran was higher than that of the other cultivars. From the differential scanning calorimeter results, the gelatinization temperatures of the three taro flours were $84.98-89.91^{\circ}C$. The pasting temperature of the three taro flours was from 46.77 to $49.30^{\circ}C$ by rapid visco-analyzer. Among these varieties, Josaengjong had the highest peak viscosity and final viscosity, whereas Altoran had the lowest. These taro cultivars are expected to be potential material for application in taro processed foods, due to their gelatination and pasting properties.