PREPARE

CEREALS
AND
STARCH
Objectives
At the end of the module the
learners are expected to:
1. perform mise‘en place;
2. prepare starch and cereal dishes;
3. present starch and cereal dishes; and
4. store starch and cereal dishes.
 Cereals are usually starchy pods or grains.
Cereal grains are the most important group of
food crops in the world named after the Roman
goddess of harvest, Ceres. Rice, wheat and corn
are the three most cultivated cereals in the
world. Starch on the other hand, exists in nature
as the main component of cereals and tubers. In
manufactured and processed foods, it plays an
obvious role in achieving the desired viscosity in
such products as cornstarch pudding, sauces, pie
fillings, and gravies.
 Starch is the second most abundant organic
substance on earth. It is found in all forms of
leafy green plants, located in the roots, fruits or
grains. Many of the food staples of man
throughout the world are basically starchy foods,
such as rice, corn, cassava, wheat, potato and
others. Starch is the source of up to 80% of
calories worldwide. Besides this significant role,
starches have been used in food manufacture,
cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, paper,
construction materials, and other industries.
 Sources of Starch
The parts of plants that store most starch are
seeds, roots, and tubers. Thus, the most
common sources of food starch are:
1. cereal grains, including corn, wheat, rice,
grain, sorghum, and oats;
2. legumes; and
3. roots or tubers, including potato, sweet
potato, arrowroot, and the tropical cassava
plant (marketed as tapioca)
Common Source of Manufactured Food
Starch
1. corn
2. potato
3. Tapioca (cassava)

Starches are named after its plant sources

1. corn starch from corn
2. rice starch from rice
3. tapioca from cassava
 Classification of Starch
1. Native or Natural Starch refers to the starches as
originally derived from its plant source.
2. Modified Starches are starches that have been altered
physically or chemically, to modify one or more of its
key chemicals and/or physical property.
3. Purified starch may be separated from grains and
tubers by a process called wet milling. This procedure
employs various techniques of grinding, screening, and
centrifuging to separate the starch from fiber, oil, and
protein.
Starch Composition and Structure
The Starch Molecule
Starch is polysaccharide made up of
hundreds or even thousands of glucose
molecules joined together. The
molecules of starch are two general
types, called fractions: amylose and
amylopectin.
 Amylose is a long chain-like molecule,
sometimes called the linear fraction, and is
produced by linking together 500 to 2, 000
glucose molecules. The amylose fraction of
starch contributes gelling characteristics to
cooked and cooled starch mixtures. A gel is
rigid to a certain degree and holds a shape
when molded.
 Amylopectin has a highly branched,
bushy type of structure, very different from
the long, string-like molecules of amylose.
In both, amylose and amylopectin,
however, the basic building unit is glucose.
Cohesion or thickening properties are
contributed by amylopectin when a starch
mixture is cooked in the presence of water,
but this fraction does not produce a gel.
 The Starch Granule
In the storage areas of plants, notably the
seeds and roots, molecules of starch are
deposited in tiny, organized units called granules.
Amylose and amylopectin molecules are placed
together in tightly packed stratified layers formed
around a central spot in the granule called the
hilum. The starch molecules are systematically
structured in the granule to form crystalline-like
patterns.
 If the starch granules, in a water suspension,
are observed microscopically under polarized
light, the highly oriented structure causes the
light to be rotated so that a Maltese cross
pattern on each granule is observed. This
phenomenon is called birefringence. The pattern
disappears when the starch mixture is heated
and the structure disrupted. The sizes and
shapes of granules differ among starches from
various sources, but all starch granules are
microscopic in size.
 Starch Properties and Reactions
1. Gelatinization. The sum of changes that occur in
the first stages of heating starch granules in a
moist environment which includes swelling of
granules as water is absorbed and disruption of the
organized granule structure.

2. Viscosity. The resistance to flow; increase in

thickness or consistency. When the newly gelatinized
starch is stirred, more swollen granules break and
more starch molecules spill causing increase in
viscosity or thickness.
Different Sweeteners Added to
Starch Gel Preparation.
1. honey
2. molasses
3. panutsa or granulated sugar
3. Retrogadation is the process in
which starch molecules,
particularly the amylose fraction,
re-associate or bond together in
an ordered structure after
disruption by gelatinization;
ultimately a crystalline order
appears.
4. Syneresis. Oozing of liquid from gel when cut
and allowed to stand (e.g. jelly or baked
custard). The oozing of liquid from a rigid gel;
sometimes called weeping.

This reaction occurs in all kinds of gels:

a. puddings
b. jellies
c. custards
d. gelatin
e. agar
5. Dextrinization. It is the process of
forming dextrin. Dextrins – are
partially hydrolyzed starches that are
prepared by dry roasting. In home
kitchens, dextrinization is achieved by
toasting flour for polvoron, rice flour
for kare-kare sauce, and bread slices
for breakfast.
6. Hydrolysis Starches undergo hydrolysis during
cooking or processing and during storage of
food where a chemical reaction in which a
molecular linkage is broken and a molecule of
water is utilized.
a. Prolonged heating of starches with acid will
promote hydrolysis. This can happen when
cooking an acidic food, such as: Pineapple pie
resulting in reduced viscosity or firmness of the
pie filling.
 Functional Properties of Starches
Starch plays various roles in food, a typical multi-task
1. Thickeners in gravies, sauces and pudding. It absorbs
water and become a gel when cooked.
2. Colloidal stabilizers
3. Moisture retainer
4. Gel forming agents
5. Binders
6. Package
7. Flavor carriers– its ability to trap oils and fats, which
absorb flavoring substances more efficiently.
 Starches – are added to processed meats (luncheon
meats, hot dogs, sausages, etc.) as a filler, binder,
moisture, retainer, and fat substitute. The quality
characteristics of the starch itself depends upon which
role or function it was used.

Cereal- Cereal is any grain that is used for food.

Grains especially whole grain are not just empty
calories. These are very valuable and can contribute a
great deal to our health. You should include at least four
servings from this food group each day.
 Cereal-processed food:
1. A whole grain cereal is a grain product that has
retained the specific nutrients of the whole,
unprocessed grain and contains natural proportions
of bran, germ and endosperm.
2. Enriched cereals are excellent sources of thiamine,
niacin, riboflavin, and iron.
3. A restored cereal is one made from either the entire
grain or portions of one or more grains to which
there have been added sufficient amounts of
thiamine, niacin, and iron to attain the accepted
whole grain levels of these three nutrients found in
the original grain from which the cereal is prepared.
Cereals provide the body with:
1. Carbohydrates
2. Protein
3. Fat
4. Vitamins
5. Minerals
6. Water
7. Cellulose or roughage