Starches and cereals

Starches: Derived from the seeds and

roots of various plants.
It is the storage form of carbohydrates with
the molecules of starch being deposited in
tiny units called granules within the cells of
various plants.
Cereals: They are seeds of the grass family
Sources of starch
 Cereals as rice and wheat are common sources of starch
 Root starches: potatoes, tapioca (cassava), and
arrowroot.
 Other sources of complex carbohydrates and seeds of
the grass family : dried beans, peas, corn/maize, oats,
rye, barley, and sago palm.
 Starches are used in many food products as :
Thickening agent (carbohydrates that have been
extracted from the grain), Edible films, and sweeteners
Grain anatomy
Cereals

 Most important cereals for food use: corn (maize, rice, oats, rye,
and barley)
 cereal grains are widely used for making: Breakfast cereal,
flours, meals, bread, alimentary paste, and starches
Nutritive value
 Cereals are economical sources of energy, chiefly in the
form of complex carbohydrate starch
 Significant source of protein( Endosperm is usually used
for flour, and it provides protein and starch)
 Good source of indigestible fiber (Bran available in
whole flour)
 Consistent source of key vitamins and minerals.
 NB// the nutritive value of cereals varies with the type
of grain and the procession method.
 Grain enrichment

 Most grain foods are enriched:

a) Iron
b) Thiamin
c) Riboflavin
d) Niacin
e) Folic acid
 Common cereal grains
 Wheat: it is commonly milled to flour
Durum wheat: is a very hard non-bread making wheat of high
protein content. Is used in making macaroni and other alimentary
pastes
Bulgur wheat: wheat that is first boiled then dried
 Corn: milled to cornmeal/four, corn oil and corn syrup
 Rice: grains of rice may be parboiled before milling, short, medium
and long grain rice
Wild rice: is not true rice but is hulled and unmilled grain of redlike
water plant
 Oats: it is from the oat kernel and milled to rolled oat (high in fat
than most other cereals, and also a good source of thiamin and other
vitamin B, and iron
 Rye: A flour making grain and is available in three grades: white, medium, and
dark
 Barley: is used in soups, barley flour maybe used in breakfast cereals and baby
food.
Sprouted barley: the source of malt, which is rich in the enzyme amylase( it
hydrolyses starch to dextrins and maltose)
 Buckwheat: is not a seed from grass family, but a seed from herbaceous plant( it
contains a glutanous substance and is made into flour.
 Rice

Brown Polished Converted

• Whole rice, bran • Bran removed • Parboiled before
intact • Remove some of bran removal (to
• Longer cooking nutrients and retain more
time due to slow fibre nutrient than
water • Usually enriched polished rice)
penetration of • Usually enriched
bran
• Different
textures, more
nutrients and
more fibre
High in carb
Black-eyed peas: 1 cup = 100g carbs
Garbanzo beans: 1 cup = 126g carbs
Pinto beans: 1 cup = 120g carbs
White beans: 1 cup = 122g carbs
Lima beans: 1 cup = 112g carbs
Green peas: 1 cup = 120g carbs
Carrot (chopped): 1 cup = 12g carbs
Butternut squash (chopped): 1 cup = 16g carbs
Sweet potato (chopped): 1 cup = 27g carbs
Parsnips (sliced): 1 cup = 24g carbs
Potato (diced): 1 cup = 27g carbs
Pumpkin (chopped): 1 cup = 8g carbs
Plantains (sliced): 1 cup = 47g carbs
Corn:1 cup = 27g carbs
Low in carb
Mustard greens: 1 cup = 3g carbs
Alfalfa sprouts: 1 cup = 1g carbs
Lettuce: 1 cup = 1g carbs
Spinach: 1 cup = 1g carbs
Kale: 1 cup = 1g carbs
Bok choy: 1 cup = 2g carbs
Swiss chard: 1 cup = 1g carbs
Onion: 1 cup = 15g carbs
Beets :1 cup= 13g carbs
Green onion/scallion: 1 cup = 7g carbs
Leeks: 1 cup = 12g carbs
Celery: 1 cup = 3g carbs
Zucchini: 1 cup = 4g carbs
Eggplant: 1 cup = 5g carbs
Tomato: 1 cup = 7g carbs
Green bell pepper: 1 cup = 7g carbs
Sweet red pepper: 1 cup = 7g carbs
Cauliflower: 1 cup = 5g carbs
Okra: 1 cup = 7g carbs
Asparagus: 1 cup = 5g carbs
Turnips: 1 cup = 8g carbs
Radishes: 1 cup = 4g carbs
Green beans: 1 cup = 5g carbs
Green cabbage: 1 cup = 5g carbs
Red cabbage: 1 cup = 5g carbs
High in starch Low in starch
• Beans (kidney, navy, pinto, black, • Artichokes
cannellini) • Asparagus
• Butternut squash • Bean sprouts
• Chickpeas • Brussels sprouts
• Corn • Broccoli
• Lentils • Cabbage
• Parsnips • Cauliflower
• Peas • Celery
• Potatoes • Cucumber
• Sweet potatoes • Eggplant (also known as aubergine)
• Taro • Mushrooms
• Yams • Onions
• Peppers (also known as capsicum)
• Salad greens
• Spinach
• Tomato
• Turnips
• Zucchini (also known as courgette)
Dextrinisation
 Dextrins have a different chemical structure to
starch, giving them different characteristics,
these are:
 Dextrins dissolve in cold water but starch
does not
 Dextrins taste sweet while starch tastes
floury
 Dextrins are poor thickening agents while
starch gelatinises
 Dextrinisation can be caused by many things,
these are:
 Exposure of starch granules to dry heat
 The action of acids
 The action of certain enzymes
 Dextrinisation is the reason for:
 Bread turning brown during toasting
 Gravies being brown
 Brown crust forming on baked starchy
vegetables, such as potatoes
Crystalisation

 Crystallisation is used in the

making of confectionary
such as toffee, brittle, fudge
and caramel.

 Sugar is dissolved in a liquid

and heated, the liquid
evaporates, concentrating
the sugar solution. As the
solution cools, the sugar re-
forms into crystals
caramelization

 aramelisation occurs without

water, as it evaporates
before caramelisation takes
place

 Caramelised sugar adds a

distinctive flavour to foods
and is often used in
commercial products such as
milks and cakes
Starch cookery
 Effect of dry heat: the starch becomes more soluble
in comparison to unheated starch, and reduced
thickening power when made to a cooked paste and
starch molecules are broken down to dextrin
Dextrinization: The breakdown of starch molecules
to smaller, sweeter-tasting dextrins in the presence of
dry heat
 Effect of moist heat: starch molecules are completely
insoluble in cold water. When heated with water, the
granules absorbs water and swell and the dispersion
increase in viscosity/thickness until it reaches the
thickening pick.-Gelatinization
 Gel formation and retrogradation: when the starch-
thickened mixture cools after gelatinization is
complete
 Starch and cereal cookery
 To obtain a smooth product, make a starch paste with cold
water before adding it to hot mixture.
 High temperature should be used in cooking starch and cereal
to improve their palatability
 The water in which starch are to be cooked should be boiling
rapidly before adding cereal. Complete gelatinization is
obtained
 Stirring occasionally
 Sufficient cooking is necessary to eliminate raw starch flavour
 Addition of sugar while cooking prevents gelatine formation,
and salt improves the flavour
 Factors requiring control in starch cookery:
(a) Temperature and time of heating: starch paste may be
prepared most quickly by bringing them to a boiling
temperature over direct heat stirring as they thicken, and let
to simmer for less time
(b) Agitation or stirring: stir the starch mixture in an early
stage to obtain the smoothness
(c) Acidity (pH): a degree of acid decreases the thickening
power of the starch granules
(d) Adding other ingredients: sugar delays the swelling of the
starch granules and degreases the thickening of the paste
when used in larger amount.
(e) Combining starch with hot liquid: lump/clump formation
can be prevented by dispersing the particles melted butter,
by blending starch with sugar, or by making a paste of starch
with cold water before adding it to hot liquid
Types of starch that are used for thickening

Corn
starch
• Extracted from corn
• Forms a firm gel which hold
when cut
• Fairy translucent
• Retrograde with storage
Arrow
root
• Derived from the root of the
arrowroot plant
• More translucent than cornflour
• Retrograte whith freezing
 Wheat flour Tapioca

• Not a pure starch, consist of • Refined from the roots of cassava

ioca protein and starch with some fat. or manioc plant
• Twice the quantity of flour is • Translucent, sticky, gummy and
needed to equal the thickening of cohesive
cornstarch • Will not loose translucency with
• Opaque gel due to wheat protein storage
• Firm gel when cut
• Retrogrades with storage
Potato Rice

• Alternative source of • Another alternative

starch for people with starch
sensitivity problems to • Fragile gel
other starches
• Translucent gel
• Retrograde with storage
Modified Starches Pre-gelatinized Starches

• Processed from natural starches by • Modified starches

altering the molecule structure • Starches that have been gelatinized
• No retrogradation and then dehydrated
• Fairly stable with freezing and • When reconstituted with cold
canning liquid, starch gels
• Processed from waxy starches and • No cooking needed
high amylopectin
• Available commercially
• Used in foodservice to thicken pie
filling and sauces