Physicochemical, morphological, and functional properties of flour and starch from peach palm (Bactris gasipaes K.) fruit

To characterize the flour and starch from peach palm fruit, a non‐conventional raw material, these powders were studied by means of chemical composition, SEM, particle size analyzer, XRD, FTIR, and differential scanning calorimeter, with different water contents. The rheological properties of the solutions and suspensions also were evaluated. Results showed that flour and starch powders have high starch contents (between 73.0 and 84.5%) with average particle size between 9.8 µm (flour) and 8.4 µm (starch). Thermograms revealed endothermic peaks that were affected by hydration conditions between 70–72°C for flour and 61–62°C for starch. Solutions of peach palm fruit flour and starch had a pseudoplastic behavior at 30°C that can be fit well to the power‐law model. Peach palm fruit is a non‐conventional source of flour and starch, but the results proved that these powders could have promising industrial applications, due to their physicochemical properties being similar to those reported for other starches.