Corn starch
Italic textCorn starch, cornstarch, cornflour or maize starch is the starch of the corn (maize) grain obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel.
History
Until 1850, corn starch was used primarily for starching laundry and industrial uses.[1]
Use
Corn starch is used as a thickening agent in soups and liquid-based foods, such as sauces, gravies and custards by mixing it with a cold liquid to form a paste or slurry. It is sometimes preferred over flour because it forms a translucent mixture, rather than an opaque one. As the starch is heated, the molecular chains unravel, allowing them to collide with other starch chains to form a mesh, thickening the liquid (Starch gelatinization).
It is usually included as an anticaking agent in powdered sugar (10X or confectioner's sugar). For this reason, recipes calling for powdered sugar often call for at least light cooking to remove the raw corn starch taste. Baby powder often uses cornstarch.[citation needed]
Corn starch, in certain scientific experiments, can be used as a non-Newtonian fluid.
A common substitute is arrowroot, which replaces corn starch on a 1:1 ratio.[2]
Manufacture
The corn is steeped for 30 to 48 hours, which ferments it slightly. The germ is separated from the endosperm and those two components are ground separately (still soaked). Next the starch is removed from each by washing. The starch is separated from the corn steep liquor, the cereal germ, the fibers and the corn gluten mostly in hydrocyclones and centrifuges, and then dried. (The residue from every stage is used in animal feed and to make corn oil or other applications.) This process is called wet milling. Finally, the starch may be modified for specific purposes.[3]
Names and varieties
- Called corn starch in the United States and Canada.
- Called cornflour in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Israel and some Commonwealth countries. Not to be confused with cornmeal.
- Often called maizena in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, Latin America, and Indonesia, after the brand.[citation needed]
See also
- Amylomaize, high amylose starch
- Bird's Custard, the English custard based on cornstarch, invented in 1837
- Waxy corn, waxy maize starch
- Corn syrup
- Corn ethanol
- Modified starch
- Potato starch
References
- ^ "Corn starch". Everything2. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
- ^ "Ingredient Substitution". JoyofBaking.com. 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
- ^ "International Starch: Production of corn starch". Starch.dk. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
External links
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