3.3.8. SyneresisSyneresis in an index for gel strength. As shown in Table 3, syneresis increased with increasing storage time from 24 to 120 h at 4 C. The rate of syneresis in blanched flour gels was slower than raw flour gels upto 48 h of storage which increased drastically during the later part of storage period. The extent of syneresis is mainly controlled by the retrogradation of starch component polymers. The differences in syneresis of flour gels could possibly be the reflection of disparities in crystallites caused by drying and blanching of flour samples. Direct solar dried (raw and blanched) flours showed relatively lower syneresis than freeze dried flours. The increased syneresis could have resulted from the high amylose content, where the leaching of amylose and amylopectin led to the shrinkage of the gel (Hermansson & Svegmark, 1996) which in turn may have altered the degree of polymerization of amylose to amylopectin chain length.