Potato starch
Encyclopedia
Potato starch is starch
extracted from potato
es. The cells of the root tuber
s of the potato plant contain starch grains (leucoplast
s). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed; the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. The starch is then washed out and dried to powder.
Potato starch contains typical large oval spherical granules; their size ranges between 5 and 100 μm. Potato starch is a very 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 a minimal tendency to foaming or yellowing of the solution.
Potato starch contains approximately 800 ppm phosphate
bound to the starch; this increases the viscosity and gives the solution a slightly anionic character, a low gelatinisation
temperature (approximately 140 °F (60 °C)) and high swelling power.
These typical properties are used in food and technical applications.
are used in many recipes, for example in noodles, wine gums, cocktail nuts, potato chips, hot dog
sausages, bakery cream and instant soup
s and sauces, in gluten
-free recipes in kosher foods for Passover
and in Asian cuisine
. In pastry
, e.g. sponge cake
, 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
, to reduce sweating and binding. Helmipuuro
is a porridge made from monodisperse grains of potato starch and milk.
It is also used in technical applications as wallpaper adhesive, for textile finishing and textile sizing, in paper coating and sizing
and as an adhesive in paper sacks and gummed tape.
Potato starch was also used in one of the earlier color photography processes, the Lumière brothers' Autochrome Lumière
, until the arrival of colour film in the mid-1930s.
There are many types of potatoes. For the production of potato starch, potato varieties with high starch content (high under water weight) and high starch yields are selected. Recently, a new type of potato plant was developed that only contains one type of starch molecule: amylopectin
, the waxy potato starch
. Waxy starches, after starch gelatinisation, retrograde
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 and the Czech Republic.
Some potato starch is also produced as a by-product
from the potato processing industry, recovered from the peelings
produced during production of French fries
and potato chip
s.
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
extracted from potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es. The cells of the root tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...
s of the potato plant contain starch grains (leucoplast
Leucoplast
Leucoplasts 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....
s). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed; the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. The starch is then washed out and dried to powder.
Potato starch contains typical large oval spherical granules; their size ranges between 5 and 100 μm. Potato starch is a very 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 a minimal tendency to foaming or yellowing of the solution.
Potato starch contains approximately 800 ppm phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
bound to the starch; this increases the viscosity and gives the solution a slightly anionic character, a low gelatinisation
Starch gelatinization
Starch gelatinization is a process that breaks down the intermolecular bonds of starch molecules in the presence of water and heat, allowing the hydrogen bonding sites to engage more water. This irreversibly dissolves the starch granule...
temperature (approximately 140 °F (60 °C)) and high swelling power.
These typical properties are used in food and technical applications.
Use
Potato starch and potato starch derivativesModified starch
Modified starch, also called starch derivatives, are prepared by physically, enzymatically, or chemically treating native starch, thereby changing the properties of the starch. Modified starches are used in practically all starch applications, such as in food products as a thickening agent,...
are used in many recipes, for example in noodles, wine gums, cocktail nuts, potato chips, hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
sausages, bakery cream and instant soup
Instant soup
Instant soups are a kind of soup. They are produced on an industrial scale and treated in different ways for preservation. Usually instant soups, especially instant noodles, are dried, canned, or treated by freezing....
s and sauces, in gluten
Gluten
Gluten is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye...
-free recipes in kosher foods for Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
and in Asian cuisine
Asian cuisine
Asian cuisine styles can be broken down into several tiny regional styles that have roots in the peoples and cultures of those regions. The major types can be roughly defined as East Asian with its origins in Imperial China and now encompassing modern Japan and the Korean peninsula; Southeast Asian...
. In pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
, e.g. sponge cake
Sponge cake
Sponge cake is a cake based on flour , sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder which has a firm, yet well aerated structure, similar to a sea sponge. A sponge cake may be produced by either the batter method, or the foam method. Typicially the batter method in the U.S. is known as a...
, 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
Grated cheese is a type of cheese that has gone through the process of being grated. Typically, aged hard cheeses are used for this purpose. A hand grater can be used to manually grate the cheese, or cheese can be bought already grated...
, to reduce sweating and binding. Helmipuuro
Helmipuuro
Helmipuuro is a type of porridge traditional in Finland and in Russia. The porridge is made from monodisperse grains of potato starch that are swelled in boiling milk into translucent "pearls" of ca. 5 mm in diameter, thus the name helmipuuro...
is a porridge made from monodisperse grains of potato starch and milk.
It is also used in technical applications as wallpaper adhesive, for textile finishing and textile sizing, in paper coating and sizing
Sizing
Sizing or size is any one of numerous specific substances that is applied to or incorporated in other material, especially papers and textiles, to act as a protecting filler or glaze....
and as an adhesive in paper sacks and gummed tape.
Potato starch was also used in one of the earlier color photography processes, the Lumière brothers' Autochrome Lumière
Autochrome Lumière
The Autochrome Lumière is an early color photography process. Patented in 1903 by the Lumière brothers in France and first marketed in 1907, it was the principal color photography process in use before the advent of subtractive color film in the mid-1930s....
, until the arrival of colour film in the mid-1930s.
Potato Varieties
Amylopectin
Amylopectin is a soluble polysaccharide and highly branched polymer of glucose found in plants. It is one of the two components of starch, the other being amylose.Glucose units are linked in a linear way with α glycosidic bonds...
, the waxy potato starch
Waxy potato starch
Waxy potato starch is a new species of starch only containing amylopectin molecules, extracted from new potato varieties. Standard starch extracted from traditional potato varieties contains both amylose and amylopectin....
. Waxy starches, after starch gelatinisation, retrograde
Retrogradation (starch)
Retrogradation is a reaction that takes place in gelatinized starch when the amylose and amylopectin chains realign themselves, causing the liquid to gel....
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 and the Czech Republic.
Some potato starch is also produced as a by-product
By-product
A by-product is a secondary product derived from a 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 considered waste....
from the potato processing industry, recovered from the peelings
Peel (fruit)
Peel, also known as rind or skin, is the outer protective layer of a fruit or vegetable which could be peeled off. The rind is usually the botanical exocarp, but the term exocarp does also include the hard cases of nuts, which are not named peels since they are not peeled off by hand or peeler, but...
produced during production of French fries
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
and potato chip
Potato chip
Potato chips are thin slices of potato that are deep fried...
s.