Starch is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycoside

bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store. It is the most important
carbohydrate in the human diet. Starch occurs in natüre in many ways. It is contained in such staple
foods as potatoes, wheat, maize (corn), rice, and cassava. Corn Starch (also known as maize starch) is
one starch derived from corn, it is ground from the white endosperm at the heart of a kernel of corn.
CORN STARCH: Forms viscous dispersion when heated or in alkaline medium, forms irreversible gel
upon quick cooling, good thickening properties, takes relatively less time to hydrate and develop
viscosity, forms opaque and short textured paste, and is a texturizing agent.
Applications: Turkish delights, bakery industry, canned and powdered soups, sauces, desserts, gravies,
custard, ice-cream cones, pie fillings, puddings, salad dressings.
Potato Starch is one starch derived from potatoes in the process of mechanical separation of starch
grains from other parts of potato, washing out, purification, drying and sieving. This starch is intended
both to food and technical applications
Potato starch mixed with cold water gives a suspension – does not dissolve in it. However, when
heated to a predetermined temperature forms pastes with a very high viscosity& high transparency.
Natural starch is widely used as a thickener, binder, anticaking and improving texture agent.
It is used in the food, chemical, paper and textile industries, to starch of clothes in households, for
baking cakes, to thicken soups and sauces, desserts, puddings and fruit jellies etc., as well as for
technical purposes in various industries. It also can be used as a natural talc and bath additive for
allergy sufferers and component powders for children.
 Wheat Starch is one starch derived from wheat. It is white free flowing powder, insoluble in fresh
water. Taste and flavor are neutral. It is extracted from selected wheats by mechanical action and
fresh water. Drying is made maintaining inalterable the product characteristics.
Tapioca Starch is one starch derived from tapioca.
Rice starch is characterized by very small granules in the range of 2-8 µm, that are much smaller than
those of other cereals, tubers and roots, such as corn and potato. The rice starch granule size is
comparable to the size of fat globules. It is therefore ideally suited to mimic a full-bodied fatty
mouthfeel. It provides creamy textures and can even serve as a natural fat replacer. Also, the smaller
rice starch granules allow to smoothen the surface of confectionery coatings. The rice starch’s neutral
taste and very white appearance make it an ideal ingredient for clean label coating.
APPLICATIONS: Makes soft and creamy gel textures. Enhances crispiness and crunchiness. Provides a
fat-like mouthfeel. Improves Process, freeze-thaw and acid stability. Extends shelf-life of baked goods.
Reduces breakage in biscuits. Replaces gelatin in dairy. Replaces casein in cheese. Used as
smoothening and whitening in coatings.
Native pea starch is derived from yellow peas and is processed differently from pea flour, which is the
more common ingredient derived from pea. Peas contain 40% starch and the native starch form is a
white powder that is neutral in taste and color. This starch in a non-GMO, non-allergenic/glüten-free
ingredient. Pea starch is differentiated from other native starches because of the high amylose
content in the pea starch granules. This property gives it strong gelling properties. It can form a gel in
water at a much lower dosage than other starches, making it the best gelling native starch. Pea starch
is thus an ideal ingredient for food Products that require short, elastic texture such as glass noodles or
gummy confectionaries.
The increasing prevalence of coeliac disease (CD) and gluten-related disorders has led to increasing
consumer demand for gluten-free products with quality characteristics similar to wheat bread. The replacement
of gluten in cereal-based products remains a challenge for scientists, due to its unique role in network
formation, which entraps air bubbles.
When gluten is removed from a flour, starch is the main component left. Starch is used as gelling,
thickening, adhesion, moisture-retention, stabilizing, film forming, texturizing and anti-staling
ingredient. The extent of these properties varies depending on the starch source. The starches can
additionally be modified increasing or decreasing certain properties of the starch, depending on the application.
Starch plays an important role in the formulation of bakery products and has an even more important role in
gluten-free products. In gluten-free products, starch is incorporated into the food formulation to improve baking
characteristics such as the specific volume, colour and crumb structure and texture. This review covers a
number of topics relating to starch; including; an overview of common and lesser researched starches;
chemical composition; morphology; digestibility; functionality and methods of modification. The emphasis of
this review is on starch and its properties with respect to the quality of gluten-free products.