A method has been discovered to produce a resistant starch product that
retains the same cooking quality as found in untreated rice starch or
flour, but has a higher percentage of starch resistant to .alpha.-amylase
digestion. This method uses a debranching enzyme, e.g., pullulanase, to
digest the starch, but does not require pre-treating the starch source
prior to enzymatic treatment. This method produced resistant starch from
low amylose starches, rice starch (24%) and rice flour (20%).
Surprisingly the resistant starch product formed by this method retained
the pasting characteristics of the untreated flour or starch, and was
heat stable. This method may also be used to produce resistant starch
from other botanical sources, e.g., corn, wheat, potato, oat, barley,
tapioca, sago, and arrowroot. Resistant starch produced by this method
has a variety of uses in food products.
