Influence of Storage Period on the Physicochemical Properties and In Vitro Digestibility of Starch in Packaged Cooked Chestnut Kernel

Abstract Long shelf life is important for industrially packaged cooked chestnut kernel. This study aims to investigate the physicochemical and digestive properties of starch in cooked chestnut stored for varying periods of up to 12 months. Apparent amylose content decreases significantly during the initial storage period of 2 months and then increases gradually in the succeeding 10 months. During storage, the degree of gelatinization decreases, whereas the degree of retrogradation (DR) increases. The relative crystallinity of cooked chestnut starch increases during storage and shows a significant positive correlation with DR. The content of rapidly digestible starch (RDS) decreases significantly during shelf life. Starch retrogradation and relative crystallinity exhibit a significant negative correlation with RDS content, and the short‐range molecular order of starch is negatively correlated with the content of slowly digestible starch. The results indicate that the digestibility of cooked chestnut kernel decreases during storage because of an increase in the crystallinity of starch.