Starch

Starch is a mixture of amylose and amylopectin usually in the ratio of 20:80 or 30:70 ratios. Amylase and amylopectin are both complex carbohydrate polymers of glucose. The chemical formula of glucose is C6H12O6 and that of starch is (C6H10O5)n. From this chemical formula we know that starch is also a glucose polymer, regardless of the ratio of amylase and amylopectin. The word starch is derived from the Middle English term “sterchen” which means to stiffen. This definition is appropriate, since it is also used as a thickening agent when dissolved in water and heated.

Starch in Food

Starch is the most consumed of polysaccharides in the human diet. Most traditional “staple” foods such as tubers, cereals, and roots are a main source of starch. Starch in the form of cornstarch is used in cooking for thickening foods and making sauces. Food starches are used as thickeners and stabilizers in foods like in puddings, custards, soups, sauces, gravies, pie fillings, and salad dressings. They have other uses as well. In the manufacturing industry, starch is used in the making of gum, paper, and textiles. It is also used to manufacture molds used for making candies including wine gums and jelly beans. It is found normally in the form of a tasteless and odorless white powder, and some forms of resistant starch escapes digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals.

Fruit, seeds, rhizomes or tubers of plants are rich in starch. Starch gives us energy when consumed. Rice, wheat, corn, and potatoes are very popular sources of starch, and cooked foods like boiled rice, various forms of bread and noodles also contain starch. Arrowroot and tapioca are commonly used as a starch-based additive for food processing as well. Banana, barley, cassava, kudzu, ocra, sago, potatoes, sweet potatos, taro and yams are common starch-based foods consumed around the world. Edible beans, such as favas, lentils and peas, also contain starch.

Starch is widely used in papermaking with millions of metric tons utilized annually. In papermaking both chemically modified and unmodified starches are used. Non-food starch is largely utilized for making corrugating glues in many places around the world. These glues are used in making corrugated fiberboard or corrugated cardboard. Non-food starch contains a mixture of chemically modified and unmodified starches that have been partially gelatinized to form an opaque paste. This provides strength and rigidity to the cardboard boxes. Non-food starch is also widely used in the construction industry, in the wall board manufacturing process. Laundry starch used in laundering and ironing clothes is prepared by mixing a vegetable starch in water. Starch is also used to make packing peanuts, and ceiling tiles. In the printing industry, food grade starch is used in the manufacture of anti set-off spray powder which separates printed sheets of paper to avoid wet ink being smeared. Starch is also used in book binding, and sometimes used to produce Hydrogen.

Please review other areas of Nutritionzing.com to understand more about your body, its nutrition requirements, and mechanisms to ensure a satisfied and healthy lifestyle through good diet.