Modified starch

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Pack of modified food starch, a food additive which is prepared by treating starch or starch granules.

Modified starch, also called starch

pharmaceuticals as a disintegrant; or as binder in coated paper. They are also used in many other applications.[2]

Starches are modified to enhance their performance in different applications. Starches may be modified to increase their stability against excessive heat, acid, shear, time, cooling, or freezing, to change their

texture, to decrease or increase their viscosity, to lengthen or shorten gelatinization time or to increase their visco-stability
.

Modification methods

starch acetate
hydroxypropylated starch
cationic starch
carboxymethylated starch

Acid-treated starch (

inorganic acids, e.g. hydrochloric acid
, breaking down the starch molecule and thus reducing the viscosity.

Other treatments producing modified starch (with different INS and

E-numbers
) are:

and combined modifications such as

Modified starch may also be a cold-water-soluble, pregelatinized or instant starch which thickens and gels without heat, or a cook-up starch which must be cooked like regular starch. Drying methods to make starches cold-water-soluble are extrusion, drum drying, spray drying or dextrinization.

Other starch derivatives, the starch sugars, like

high fructose syrup, glucose syrups, maltodextrins, starch degraded with amylase enzyme are mainly sold as liquid syrup to make a sweetener
.

Examples of use and functionality of modified starch

Pre-gelatinized starch is used to thicken instant

pizza toppings
containing modified starch will thicken when heated in the oven, keeping them on top of the pizza, and then become runny when cooled.

A suitably modified starch is used as a fat substitute for low-fat versions of traditionally fatty foods, e.g. industrial milk-based desserts like yogurt or reduced-fat hard salami having about 1/3 the usual fat content. For the latter type of uses, it is an alternative to the product Olestra.

Modified starch is added to frozen products to prevent them from dripping when defrosted. Modified starch, bonded with phosphate, allows the starch to absorb more water and keeps the ingredients together. Modified starch acts as an emulsifier for French dressing by enveloping oil droplets and suspending them in the water. Acid-treated starch forms the shell of jelly beans. Oxidized starch increases the stickiness of batter.

Carboxymethylated starches are used as a

excipients
in the pharmaceutical industry.

Cationic starch is used as wet end sizing agent in paper manufacturing
.

Genetically modified starch

Modified starch should not be confused with

labels
it refers to the later processing or treatment of the starch or starch granules.

Genetically modified starch is of interest in the manufacture of

food additives. For example, researchers aim to alter the enzymes within living plants to create starches with desirable modified properties, and thus eliminate the need for enzymatic processing after starch is extracted from the plant.[5]

See also

References

Suggested reading