Description
What is Potato Starch?
Potato starch is the carbohydrate extract from Irish potatoes. It’s mainly produced in Europe but is used widely across the globe, from China to Brazil, U.S and India. Its popularity owes more to the fact that it’s a superior thickener compared to corn starch and wheat flour.
Compared to corn and wheat, potato contains relatively long chains of starch molecules which retrograde less rapidly. This molecular structure significantly minimizes the possibility of turbidity and odious textures in food.
Potato starch often used as a thickener, binder, texturizer, an anti-caking agent in a vast range of foods, from snacks like dry-roasted peanuts to gravies, sauces, soups and many more.
How is Potato Starch Made?
Potato starch is usually a byproduct of cull potatoes, surplus potatoes, and waste streams from potato processing. Its created from starch manufacturing processes which use unique potato cultivars that contain 65 – 80% starch.
The fabrication process entails shredding and mashing the potatoes with a saw blade rasps or hammer mill in the presence of sulfur dioxide, which preserves the colour and prevents oxidation. The food product then screened to remove skins and fibre and to separate the starch from the potato pulp. The separated starch is then soaked in water to remove water-soluble impurities, and then subjected to gravity separation to remove other contaminants. At the end process its drained through vacuum filtration and flash drying.
The Uses of Potato Starch
Potato starch often used as a thickener for both domestic and commercial cooking. It’s also widely used in pie fillings, instant puddings, sweets, chewing gums, desserts, snacks and many more. Potato starch regularly used as a perfect thickener, texturizer, an anti-caking agent in gluten-free recipes across the globe.
On the industrial level, potato starch is used in breweries when yeast requires filtration from wort—potato starch also used as an organic additive in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products as well as pet food.
