pentosan

noun

pentosan

noun

1

Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Microbiology, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Any polysaccharide composed of pentoses.

Thanks to its pentosans, rye flour absorbs eight times its weight in water, while wheat flour absorbs two. Unlike starch, the pentosans don't retrograde and harden after being cooked and cooled. So they provide a soft, moist texture that helps gives rye breads a shelf life of weeks.2004, Harold McGee, chapter 9, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, →ISBN:

Derived terms: pentosan polysulfate
Related terms: arabinoxylan

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.