A novel, non-destructive method of evaluation of the time-dependent stability of starch gels and binary starch-non-starchy hydrocolloid gels is presented. The low-field NMR technique applied provided the following results. On storage at room temperature, binary potato starch gels with xanthan gum are more stable in time than gels with guar gum and kappa-carrageenan. Xanthan and guar gums as well as kappa-carrageenan are dispensable as stabilizers of stored potato starch gel and building the cassava gel structure lasted over 96 h. In the binary system with cassava starch, guar gum performed best regardless storage temperature. At room temperature, admixture of hydrocolloids to plain cornstarch gels resulted in remove of water molecules from the gel network. Stabilization of cornstarch gels with hydrocolloids was, practically, dispensable and even non-beneficial regardless storage temperature. None among tested hydrocolloids stabilized the oat starch gel. On cold storage, kappa-carrageenan performed best. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.