Exploring the mechanism of fatty acids to improve 3D printing precision of cassava starch gel

Understanding the printability and underlying mechanisms of starch food systems is crucial for the industrial application of 3D food printing. This work investigated the effect of fatty acids with various degrees of unsaturation and chain lengths on the three-dimensional (3D) food printing precision of cassava starch (CS) gel and its mechanism. Results showed that fatty acids with shorter chain lengths and higher unsaturation levels improved printing precision. These modifications increased the average molecular size ( R h ) and crystallinity of starch, with shorter fatty acid chains reducing the percentage of amylopectin chains for 6 < X ≤ 12, while higher unsaturation levels increased the proportion of amylose chains for 100 < X ≤ 1000. These changes in starch multi-scale structure contributed to a decline in the T 23 of the printing ink, which in turn resulted in an increase in elastic modulus (G′) of the gel system, thus eventually enhancing the self-supporting properties and improving the printing precision of the 3D printed product. This research presents valuable insights into the use of lipids in 3D printing of starchy foods.