Shomer, I., Department of Food Science, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, PO Box 6, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel
Rao, M.A., Department of Food Science and Technology, Cornell University–Geneva, Geneva, New York, 14456-0462, United States
Bourne, M.C., Department of Food Science and Technology, Cornell University–Geneva, Geneva, New York, 14456-0462, United States
Levy, D., Department of Vegetable Crops, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, PO Box 6, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel

The rheological behavior of suspensions of potato tuber cells after gelatinization of starch and enzymatic degradation of cellulose was studied. Elevating temperatures from 20 to 70·C resulted in a respective increase in storage modulus (G′) and decrease in loss modulus (G″) and complex dynamic viscosity (η*). The gelatinized starch behaves as an inflationary agent affecting cell elasticity and friction. Degradation of the cell wall by cellulase reduced G′, G″, and η* at all oscillation frequencies. Enzymatic degradation of the cell wall exhibited apparent second‐order behavior in relation to G′ and η*. Enzymatic removal of the cell wall resulted in the breakdown of the cell structure, dispersion of the intracellular starch, and liquefaction. Copyright © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd