STARCHES

Starches and Sauces

Starch
● Complex carbohydrate
● Provides energy
● Well-balanced diet has 45–65% calories
from carbohydrate
● Food industry uses starches widely
 Starch Characteristics (1 of 14)

● Plants serve as source of starch granules

● Granules are plant cell’s unit for starch storage

● Common sources: wheat, rice, and corn

● Root starches: potatoes, arrowroot, and cassava (tapioca)

● Other dietary starch sources: dried beans, peas, and sago palm
 Starch Characteristics (2 of 14)
Bakery products
○ Cake mixes

○ Cream pie fillings

○ Cupcakes

○ Frostings

○ Glazes

○ Fruit pie fillings

○ Refrigerated cookie doughs

Breadings
○ Breaded mushrooms

○ Breaded zucchini

○ Fried chicken

○ Fried fish

○ Onion rings

Beverages
○ Carbonated sodas

○ Fruit juices

○ Fruit drink mixes

 Starch Characteristics (3 of 14)
Canned foods
○ Chili

○ Chow mein

○ Canned pastas

○ Cream-style corn

Condiments
Confections
○ Candies

○ Fillings for chocolates

○ Gum

Dairy products
○ Cheese powders

○ Cheese spreads

○ Dips

○ Sour creams

○ Yogurts

Dressings
○ Salad dressings
○ Sandwich spreads
 Starch Characteristics (4 of 14)
Frozen foods
○ Ice cream

○ Pasta

○ Pot pies

○ TV dinners

Gravy and sauces

Meat products
○ Luncheon meats

○ Sausage

○ Turkey loafs
 Starch Characteristics (4 of 14)
Preserves
○ Jam

○ Jelly

Soups, stews
○ Chowders

○ Dry soup mixes

○ Soups

○ Stews

Toppings
○ Butterscotch

○ Marshmallow
 Starch Characteristics (5 of 14)

Starch granule sizes (largest to smaller):

● Potato starch granules
● Corn
● Tapioca
● Rice
● Taro root
Starch Characteristics (6 of 14)

Jubal Harshaw/Shutterstock.com
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 Starch Characteristics (7 of 14)
Cornstarch
● Wet milling derives starch from corn

● Major source (90%+) of starch in the United States

 Starch Characteristics (8 of 14)

Starch in food products

● Thickening agent
● Edible films
● Dextrose
● Starch syrups
TRUE OR FALSE

Amylose has a branched structure while

amylopectin is a linear structure
 Starch Characteristics (9 of 14)

Starch structure
● Polysaccharide
● Long chains of repeating glucose molecules
● Linked together in form of either:
○ Amylose: primarily linear molecules

○ Amylopectin: highly branched

Starch Characteristics (10 of 14)

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Starch Characteristics (11 of 14)

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 Starch Characteristics (12 of 14)

Starch structure
● Most starches about 75% amylopectin and 25%
amylose
● High-amylose starches: 40–70% amylose

● All starches contain some amylopectin

● A few consist entirely of amylopectin (waxy)

● It is varying amylose content that causes texture

differences in starchy foods
 Starch Characteristics (13 of 14)

Starch structure
● Starches with higher levels of amylose
tend to gel
● Starches with higher levels of amylopectin
are nongelling, still somewhat gummy
STRUCTURE OF STARCH
 Starch Characteristics (14 of 14)

Starch % Amylose % Amylopectin

Potato 25 79
Tapioca 18 83
Corn 28 72
Waxy corn (maize) 0 100
Wheat 28 72

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TRUE OR FALSE

Gelatinization occurs when the starch

molecules absorb water and expand.
 Starch Transformations (1 of 18)

Starches are valuable due to their ability to:

● Undergo gelatinization
● Undergo gel formation
● Undergo retrogradation
● Undergo dextrinization
Concentration of amylopectin and amylose in a starch
determines to which degree these processes will take
place
TRUE or FALSE

TRUE OR FALSE. Gelation refers to the swelling of starch granules

and migration of some amylose into the cooking water when
starch is heated in water to thicken various food products.
FALSE

GELATINIZATION- refers to the swelling of starch granules and migration

of some amylose into the cooking water when starch is heated in water
to thicken various food products ( a starch heated in water)
GELATION- The process of formation of a gel.
TRUE or FALSE

Sugar delays the onset of gelatinization

 Starch Transformations (2 of 18)

● Gelatinization: increase in volume, viscosity, and translucency of starch

granules when heated in a liquid

● Factors influencing gelatinization:

○ Water

○ Temperature

○ Heating time

○ Stirring

○ Acid

○ Sugar

○ Fat
EFFECT OF INGREDIENTS TO STARCH

- sugar used in the recipe to compete with the starch for the
water needed for gelatinization.
- gelatinization is delayed
- final temperature required to achieve gelatinization is
raised as the level of sugar in a starch mixture is
increased. T
EFFECT OF INGREDIENTS TO STARCH

- Acid ingredient may be a part of a starch-thickened product.

- combination of acid and heat, particularly below pH 4, causes a hydrolytic

reaction that begins to break down molecules of starch into slightly smaller
molecules.

- The shorter molecules created by acid hydrolysis of starch move somewhat

more freely in the thickening paste.

- little thinner than it would be if no acid were present.

EFFECT OF INGREDIENTS TO STARCH

- Fats and milk proteins are a part of some formulations that

are thickened with starch.

- reduction in the temperature at which maximum

gelatinization and viscosity occur. 
TRUE OR FALSE

Starches are dissolved in cold water or room

temperature liquids.
TRUE OR FALSE

Heating beyond the gelatinization

temperature decreases the viscosity of
the starch granules
TRUE or FALSE

TRUE OR FALSE.
Gelatinization requires dry heat.
FALSE

For starch to be effective as a thickening agent in foods, it must

be heated with water, which causes gelatinization, a physical
change.
 Starch Transformations (3 of 18)

Starch Source Critical Temperature, Characteristics of Cooked

°F (°C) Starch
Roots and tubers 133–158 (56–70) Form viscous, long-bodied,
(potato and tapioca) relatively clear pastes; weak
gel upon cooling.
Cereal grains (corn, 144–167 (62–75) Form viscous, short-bodied
sorghum, rice, and pastes; set to opaque gel
wheat) upon cooling.
Waxy hybrids (corn 145–165 (63–74) Form heavy-bodied, stringy,
and sorghum) clear pastes; resistant to
gelling upon cooling.
High-amylose hybrids 252–320 (100–160) Form short-bodied pastes;
(corn) set to very rigid, opaque gel
upon cooling.

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TYPE OF STARCH

● The thickening ability of starches from different sources varies.

● Potato starch is far more effective than other starches as a
thickening agent
●  Root starches are somewhat more effective than cereal starches;
wheat is the least effective of the starches commonly available.
● Flour, which is used in the home, is even less effective than pure
wheat starch because of its protein content.
● The waxy starches are more effective thickening agents in starch
pastes than are their standard counterparts.
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission from Ratnayake, Wajira S. and Jackson,

David S., “Gelatinization and Solubility of Corn Starch during Heating in
Excess Water: New Insights” Faculty Publications in Food Science and
Technology. Paper 118. Copyright (2006). American Chemical Society.
Starch Transformations (4 of 18)
TRUE OR FALSE

Gel formation is dependent on the

presence of a sufficient level of
amylopectin levels
 Starch Transformations (5 of 18)

Gel formation
● Gelatinization has to occur before gelation
● Fluid starch paste (sol) firms into a semi-solid paste
(gel)
● Dependent on presence of enough amylose
molecules
○ Amylose will gel

○ Amylopectin will not gel

 Starch Transformations (6 of 18)
Gel formation
● High amylopectin starches:

○ Thicken at lower temperatures

○ Are ideal for pie fillings and sauces

○ Include:

▪ Cornstarch

▪ Tapioca

▪ Potato

▪ Wheat flour
 Starch Transformations (7 of 18)

Gel formation
● Regular cornstarch
○ Contains large amounts of amylose

○ Good gelling agent

● Starches with more amylose form more opaque

gels than lower levels
● High amylose starches have lower viscosity
TRUE or FALSE

Dextrinization refers to the hydrolytic breakdown of starch

affected by intense dry heat, a chemical change that
produces dextrins.
TRUE

Dextrinization refers to the hydrolytic breakdown of starch effected

by intense dry heat, a chemical change that produces dextrins.
Retrogradation refers to the gradual increase of crystalline
aggregates in starch gels during storage, the result of amylose
molecules rearranging in an orderly fashion.
 Starch Transformations (8 of 18)
Retrogradation
● As gel cools, bonds continue to
form between amylose molecules,
and retrogradation occurs
● Retrogradation: phenomenon
during cooling of gelled starch
when amylose and amylopectin
molecules “retrograde” and realign
themselves. Staling in baked
products and syneresis (weeping)
in gels may occur
○ seepage of water out of a gel
 Starch Transformations (9 of 18)

Dextrinization
● Dextrinization: breakdown
of starch molecules to
smaller, sweeter-tasting
dextrin molecules in the
presence of dry heat
● Results in an increase in
sweetness
● Dextrinized starches lose
much of their thickening
power
Starch Transformations (10 of 18)

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 Starch Transformations (11 of 18)

Instant or pregelatinized starches

● To alter starch’s gelatinization, heating times,
freezing stability, cold-water solubility, or viscosity,
starches can be modified:
○ Physically

○ Enzymatically

○ Chemically
Starch Transformations (12 of 18)

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 Starch Transformations (13 of 18)

Resistant starches (RS)

● Small amount of starch resists digestion
● Fermented by gut bacteria in colon
● Gas from bacteria can cause bloating, belching,
and flatus
● May improve blood glucose levels, colon health,
and weight management
 Starch Transformations (14 of 18)
Type Definition
1 or RS1 Physically inaccessible: Starch granules
trapped in food that are prevented from
gelatinizing
2 or RS2 Ungelatinized: Indigestible because of
their chemical configuration
3 or RS3 Retrograded: The heating and cooling of
starches during processing renders them
inaccessible to enzymatic hydrolysis
4 or RS4 Modified: Chemically altered
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Food Examples
Seeds, legumes, unprocessed
whole grains
Uncooked potato, green banana
flour, high-amylose cornstarch or
grains
Cooked and cooled potato, bread,
cornflakes
Commercial starch products used
in processed foods (salad
dressings, cheese sauces, gravies,
soups, etc.)
 Starch Transformations (15 of 18)
Resistant starches (RS)

● RS4 modified (chemically) starches

○ Cross-linked starch

○ Oxidized starch
Starch Transformations (16 of 18)

Source: CERESTAR USA.

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 Starch Transformations (17 of 18)

Stacey Newman/Shutterstock.com
Pie made with unmodified cornstarch exhibits syneresis.

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 Starch Transformations (18 of 18)

MSPhotographic/Shutterstock.com
Pie made with modified starch (cross-linked waxy
cornstarch) exhibits good a appearance.

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