Potato starch is

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diet ...

extracted from

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es. The cells of the root

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

s of the potato plant contain

leucoplast Leucoplasts ("formed, molded") are a category of plastid and as such are organelles found in plant cells. They are non-pigmented, in contrast to other plastids such as the chloroplast. Background Lacking photosynthetic pigments, leucoplasts are ...

s (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. The starch is then left to settle out of solution or separated by hydrocyclones, then dried to powder. Potato starch contains typical large oval spherical granules ranging in size from 5 to 100

μm The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...

. Potato starch is a refined starch, containing minimal protein or fat. This gives the powder a clear white colour, and the cooked starch typical characteristics of neutral taste, good clarity, high binding strength, long texture, and minimal tendency to foaming or yellowing of the solution. Potato starch contains approximately 800 ppm

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

bound to the starch; this increases the viscosity and gives the solution a slightly

anion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...

ic character, a low gelatinisation temperature of approximately , and high swelling power. These properties are used in food and technical applications.

Use

Starch derivatives are used in many

cooking recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe. Recip ...

s, for example in

noodles Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures and made into a variety of shapes. The most common noo ...

, wine gums, cocktail nuts,

potato chips Potato chips (North American English and Australian English; often just chip) or crisp (British English and Hiberno-English) are thin slices of potato (or a thin deposit of potato paste) that has been deep frying, deep fried, baking, baked, ...

extruded Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex ...

snacks, battered

french fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

hot dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

sausages, bakery cream,

processed cheese Processed cheese (also known as process cheese; related terms include cheese food, prepared cheese, cheese product, and/or government cheese) is a product made from cheese mixed with an emulsifying agent (actually a calcium chelator). Additiona ...

cheese analogue Cheese alternatives are products used as culinary replacements for cheese. They are usually products made by blending other fats or proteins and used in convenience foods. The category includes vegan cheeses as well as some dairy-containing prod ...

and

instant soup Instant soup is a type of soup designed for fast and simple preparation. Some are homemade, and some are mass-produced on an industrial scale and treated in various ways to preserve them. A wide variety of types, styles and flavors of instant s ...

s and sauces, in

gluten Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain Cereal, cereal grains. The term ''gluten'' usually refers to the elastic network of a wheat grain's proteins, gliadin and glutenin primarily, that forms readily with the addition of water ...

-free recipes, in

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

foods for

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

and in

Asian cuisine Asian cuisine encompasses several significant regional cooking styles of Asia: Central Asian, East Asian, North Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and West Asian. Cuisine is a distinctive way of cooking practices and customs, usually associat ...

. In

pastry Pastry refers to a variety of Dough, doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury Baking, baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often descr ...

, e.g.

sponge cake Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during ...

, it is used to keep the cake moist and give a soft texture. It is also occasionally used in the preparation of pre-packed

grated cheese Grated cheese is cheese that has been grated. Typically, aged hard cheeses are used. Cheese can be grated by hand using a hand grater, and can be bought already grated. Commercial grated cheeses are often blends of cheeses. Shredded cheese ...

, to reduce sweating and binding. Other examples are ''

helmipuuro Helmipuuro () is a type of porridge traditional in Finland. The porridge is made from monodisperse grains of potato starch that are swelled in boiling milk into translucent "pearls" of about 5 mm in diameter, thus the name ''helmipuuro'' (" ...

'', a porridge made from monodisperse grains of potato starch and

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

, and '' papeda'' (the

Moluccan Moluccans are the Melanesian-Austronesian and Papuan-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the Maluku Islands (also called the Moluccas). The region was historically known as the Spice Islands, and today consists of two Indonesian provinces of ...

community in the Netherlands uses potato starch to make ''papeda''). It is also used in non-food applications as

wallpaper adhesive Adhesive flakes that are mixed with water to produce wallpaper paste Wallpaper adhesive or wallpaper paste is a specific adhesive, based on modified starch, methylcellulose, or clay which is used to fix wallpaper to walls. Wallpaper pastes have ...

, for

textile finishing In textile manufacturing, finishing refers to the processes that convert the woven or knitted cloth into a usable material and more specifically to any process performed after dyeing the yarn or fabric to improve the look, performance, or "hand ...

and

textile sizing Sizing or size is a substance that is applied to, or incorporated into, other materials—especially papers and textiles—to act as a protective filler or glaze. Sizing is used in papermaking and textile manufacturing to change the absorption ...

, in paper coating and

sizing Sizing or size is a substance that is applied to, or incorporated into, other materials—especially papers and textiles—to act as a protective filler or glaze. Sizing is used in papermaking and textile manufacturing to change the absorption ...

, and as an adhesive in

paper sack A paper bag is a bag made of paper, usually kraft paper. Paper bags can be made either with virgin or recycled fibres to meet customers' demands. Paper bags are commonly used as shopping carrier bags and for packaging of some consumer goods ...

s and gummed tape. Potato starch was also used in one of the earlier color photography processes, the

Lumière brothers Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière or Lumieres may refer to: Buildings * Lumière, a building used by the Bibliothèque publique d'information in Paris, France * Lumiere (skyscraper), a cancelled skyscraper development in Leeds, ...

Autochrome Lumière The Autochrome Lumière was an early color photography process patented in 1903 by the Lumière brothers in France and first marketed in 1907. Autochrome was an additive color "mosaic screen plate" process. It was one of the principal color phot ...

, until the arrival of other colour film processes in the mid-1930s.

Potato varieties

Many types of potatoes are grown for the production of potato starch, potato varieties with high starch content and high starch yields are selected. Recently, a new type of potato plant was developed that only contains one type of starch molecule:

amylopectin Amylopectin is a water-insoluble polysaccharide and highly branched polymer of α-glucose units found in plants. It is one of the two components of starch, the other being amylose. Plants store starch within specialized organelles called amyloplas ...

, the

waxy potato starch Waxy potato starch is a variety of commercially available starch composed almost entirely of amylopectin molecules, extracted from new potato varieties. Standard starch extracted from traditional potato varieties contains both amylose and amylopect ...

. Waxy starches, after starch gelatinisation,

retrograde Retrograde may refer to: Film and television * Retrograde (2004 film), ''Retrograde'' (2004 film), a film by Christopher Kulikowski * Retrograde (2022 American film), ''Retrograde'' (2022 American film), a documentary film by Matthew Heineman * ...

less during storage. The cultivation of potatoes for starch mainly takes place in Germany, the Netherlands, China, Japan, France, Denmark, and Poland, but also in Sweden, Finland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Canada, and India. Some potato starch is also produced as a

byproduct A by-product or byproduct is a secondary product derived from a production process, manufacturing process or chemical reaction; it is not the primary product or service being produced. A by-product can be useful and marketable or it can be cons ...

from the potato processing industry, recovered from the potato cutting circuit during the production of

French fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

and

potato chip Potato chips (North American English and Australian English; often just chip) or crisp (British English and Hiberno-English) are thin slices of potato (or a thin deposit of potato paste) that has been deep frying, deep fried, baking, baked, ...

Identification

Examined under a microscope using a mixture of equal volumes of glycerol and distilled water, potato starch presents transparent, colorless granules, either irregularly shaped, ovoid or pear-shaped, usually 30 μm to 100 μm in size but occasionally exceeding 100 μm, or rounded, 10 μm to 35 μm in size. Starch granules exhibit characteristic dark crosses in polarized light. If potato starch is wetted it becomes sticky.

References

External links

Memorandum on potato starch, International Starch Institute

Potato starch gelatinization film, Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potato Starch Potatoes Edible thickening agents Starch Passover foods

Use

Potato varieties

Identification

See also

References

External links