The objective of this study was to investigate the effects and mechanism of potassium alum (PA) on potato starch noodles to provide a theoretical basis for future searches for new alternatives for PA that are not harmful to the body. The amount of amylose leakage significantly decreased with the PA addition. SEM showed that the honeycomb structure of potato starch noodles with 0.1% PA was diminished. The number of internal pores and average area decreased from 92 and 580.09 units to 72 and 652.58 units, respectively. NMR indicated that the water holding capacity of potato starch noodles containing PA was greater than that of the control. XRD showed that the crystal structure of potato starch noodles was destroyed and that the crystallinity of potato starch noodles with PA increased from 16.65 to 19.64%. G' and G'' increased, but tanδ decreased. FT-IR showed that PA caused the O-H stretching vibration in the absorption peak to move in the high-field direction and that the ionic bond was dominant in the PA-potato starch interaction system.
Keywords: Mechanism; Potassium alum; Potato starch noodles; Quality.