Proton NMR and Dielectric Measurements on Sucrose Filled Agar Gels and Starch Pastes

Low-field proton NMR and high-frequency dielectric measurements were performed on sucrose-filled agar gels of 0 to 1.2g sucrose/g water and starch pastes of concentrations between 0.2 and lg starch/ g water. The dielectric constant decreased linearly with increasing concentration for both. The dielectric loss of sucrose-filled agar gels showed two regions, first increasing and then decreasing with concentration. The dielectric loss data for starch pastes showed a constant value close to that of pure water throughout the concentration range. Dielectric data were related to hydration models derived from proton NMR measurements.