A matrix of 27 acid‐thinned (AT) potato starch (PS) samples is prepared in a laboratory scale in slurry by gradation of the process parameters temperature (30, 40, and 50 °C), acid concentration (0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 m HCl) and time (4, 10, and 20 h), and is investigated in terms of functional properties (range of molar mass [Mw] between 17.7 × 106 and 1.95 × 104 g mol−1). The solubility (S) increased basically with a higher degree of molecular degradation and disintegration temperature, and the viscosity decreased systematically with decreasing Mw and increasing disintegration temperature. The existence of a specific Mw range of the starch to achieve highest gel strength is proved. However, an impact of the molecular properties on the light transmittance (Tgel) can be excluded, since all starch gels are opaque. A correlation between the strength and the specific non‐freezable bound water content (wnf) of the gels is found. High gel strength is accompanied by comparatively low wnf. In particular, the viscosity (processing) and the gel strength (final product characteristic), which are important technofunctional properties for the industrial application of AT starches, are found to be directly correlated to the Mw of the starch product. Moreover, the latter is controllable by the hydrolysis process parameters.TU Berlin, Open-Access-Mittel - 201
