WARNIN! |CERNING COPYRI The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproduction of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research. If electronic transmission of reserve material is used for purposes in excess of what constitutes "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.s CHAPTER 8 Starch in the Food Industry ©. 8. Wurzburg Vice President—Research Starch Division Notional Starch end Chemical Corporation Plalafeld, New Jersey Introduction Starch, in its native or modified form, is used extensively throughout the food industry as a carbohydrate source, extender, processing aid, thickener, stabilizer, and texture modifier. In this chapter we will not be concerned with itas a primary nutrient but rather as an agent for modifying foods. The availability and relatively low cost are major factors governing the use of starch and its modifications in foods. In addition, starches possess many ‘unique properties which, in combination with their nutritive character, make them of particular value for modifying foods. Native starches are produced commercially by extraction from the seeds of plants such as corn, wheat, sorghum or rice; the tubers, or roots, of plants like 361362 Handbook of Food Additives cassava, potato or arrowroot; and the pith of the sago palm. The character of ‘the starch varies with the plant source from which it is derived. ‘The major source for commercial starch is corn, It represents an eco- nomically-sound raw material. This is the result of a combination of factors including abundance of crop, high yield per acre, high starch content, stability of grain in storage, value of by-products, and ease of processing. Because of these characteristics of corn the starch made from it can be marketed at a relatively low price, Starch is extracted from corn by a wet milling process.' The kernels are steeped in warm water containing trace amounts of sulfur dioxide until they are softened. They are then cracked open to permit the removal of the germ by a liquid cyclone. The germ is then pressed to remove the corn oil and the residue is combined with other by-products to form feed. The balance of the kernel is ground, the fiber removed by screening, and the remaining starch- gluten mixture in water is passed through Merco centrifuges and Dorr Clones to separate the heavier starch from the gluten. The latter goes into feed and the starch water slurry is dewatered. The starch is dried for sale as native starch. The starch slurry may also be treated prior to drying so as to produce modified starches or it may be converted by hydrolysis to syrups. sugars, or dextrose, While the bulk of starch produced in this country is from corn including waxy hybrids and high amylose corn, starches are also milled from sorghum and waxy sorghum as well as potato and wheat, The properties of those pro- duced from sorghums are very similar to those from corn, and the subsequent discussions on corn starches will apply to sorghum starches, Potato starch and wheat starch represent a minor part of starch production. In addition to the above starches, tapicoa, which is milled in the East Indies and Brazil is also imported into this country for use as is, or after modification to specialty products. Physical Nature-Granules Starch is deposited in the plant in the form of minute, cold-water insoluble, granules. Depending upon the plant source, the granules range from about 3-100 microns in diameter. The shape of the gramules will also be influenced by the plant source. The hilum is a characteristic feature in many starch granules. It appears as a spot on the granule and is believed to be the nucleus about which the granule has grown, Starch granules exhibit birefringenes as evidenced by polarization crosses which may be observed when the granules are examined under polarized light. The intersection of the polarization cross is at the hilum. Striation marks are another characteristic feature in some granules, These are not as readily discerned as the hilum but they can be detected in some cases as lines arranged concentrically about the hilum. Potato starch granules show these striations clearly, but in most other starches they are not apparent (in some cases they can be developed by etching with acid). Microscopic examination of starches in water represents an effective tech- nique for identifying the plant source of a starch. Magnification of about 400 times is usually adequate.