Why do we need corn starch and how to use it correctly

Chemical composition and nutritional value

Pure corn starch contains the following components:

• vitamins B, E and PP;
• minerals - sodium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium;
• fatty acid;
• amino acids;
• cellulose.

Starch has a low ash and protein content. It is not used in its pure form, but is added to other products to give them a thick consistency. It does not contain gluten, so it is often used as a flour replacement.

It has a fairly high calorie content - about 345 kcal per 100 g. The carbohydrate content is also high - 83.5 g. The amount of protein is 1 g, and fat - 0.6 g.

Harm and contraindications

The product is contraindicated for people who have an individual tolerance to its components. Such cases are quite rare, but sometimes asthma attacks or skin rashes occur.

Starch consumption should be limited if you have the following diseases:

• obesity or a tendency to gain extra pounds because the product is high in calories;
• disorders of the gastrointestinal tract - heartburn, gastritis or ulcers. The powder is quite difficult to digest;
• high blood clotting - in this case the product should be completely excluded from the diet.

To minimize possible harm, you should study the origin of the product. If corn was grown using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, then the resulting starch will have a negative effect on the body.

Especially a lot of controversy arises around genetically modified products. Their negative effects have not been proven, but no studies have been conducted to confirm their harmlessness.

Starch for breading various dishes

Few people know, but starch can be added to breading. To obtain a golden crust, you need to place the fish or pieces of meat in a breading made from starch.

Which starch to choose is up to everyone to decide for themselves. However, based on practice, it is best to use corn starch for baking, and potato starch will be indispensable in pies with berry filling and for making jelly, puree soups and sauces. For those on a diet, it is also best to opt for corn or rice starch, as they are gluten-free.

Comments

What products can be used in baking instead of starch?

Since starch acts as a thickener, any other product that has the same properties can be used instead. For example:

• flour (wheat, rye, buckwheat, flaxseed, oatmeal);
• eggs;
• gelatin;
• agar-agar;
• coconut flakes;
• semolina;
• breadcrumbs.

You can try to do without starch, add 1 tbsp more flour, add a little more baking powder, of course it will be a little different, but it will save the situation. And you need to sift the flour very well.

Brusnica

https://forum.sibmama.ru/viewtopic.php?t=48967

How is corn starch made?

To extract starch from corn grains, they are first cleaned of dust, straw and other foreign materials, and then kept for about 50 hours in a hot solution of sulfurous acid.
Thanks to this, the protein with which the starch is bound together in the grains dissolves. After this, the corn grains are crushed to separate the germ, and further crushed to separate the fiber and starch milk in special centrifuges. Starch milk undergoes multi-stage washing with water to remove protein residues, then it is dehydrated and thoroughly dried. As a result of such manipulations, high-quality corn starch is obtained.

Add starch to pancakes, berry pie and biscuit

Another trick is to replace a little flour with starch to make melt-in-your-mouth flavorful pancakes. Experts also recommend using starch in preparing biscuit dough. For an ideal result, you must maintain the proportions in the ratio of flour and starch 2:1.

To make the pie filling tender and tasty, starch comes to the rescue. To ensure that the filling does not spread, you must maintain exact proportions - scatter 1 tablespoon of starch onto the rolled out dough or add it to the dough itself.

for home bakers and mini-bakeries

baker profession, baking design, bakers' experience, recipes, tips

Starch (C6H10O5)n is a mixture of polysaccharides amylose and amylopectin, the monomer of which is alpha-glucose.

For most plants, starch is the main accumulator of energy resources. That is why its active storage occurs in seeds, tubers and roots. The grains of cereal plants are the richest in starch: rice (up to 86%), wheat (up to 75%), corn (up to 72%), and potato tubers (up to 24%).

Starch is cheaper and easier to obtain from plants than to synthesize. Industrial methods for producing starch are associated with this. Modified starch is regular starch with additives needed for specific purposes. Modification in it occurs only at the level of the saccharide structure. Modified starch is universal because it tolerates heat treatment, including repeated freezing, is insensitive to acidic environments and easily dissolves in water. It is almost completely eliminated from the body. Depending on the source raw material, potato, corn, rice, wheat, sorghum and other types of starch are distinguished. They all differ slightly in properties and the presence of additional substances in their composition.

The structure of starch grains is crystalline, finely porous, only wheat starch grains have a round or elliptical shape. This may be why potato starch granules swell the most when the starch is moistened and heated.

The process of swelling of starch grains in hot water is called gelatinization. At the same time, starch grains increase in volume, become more loose and are easily susceptible to the action of amylolytic enzymes. The type of starch is chosen depending on what goals need to be achieved. CORN starch is the most delicate. It is added to the dough if the biscuits need to be made more tender and less dry. Corn starch does not contain gluten, so they are actively used in dietary and therapeutic nutrition. Baked goods made from corn starch are tender, aromatic and crumbly, distinguished by a special taste, beautiful color and golden brown crust. This flour makes excellent muffins, casseroles, scones, muffins, pancakes and pancakes, without the traditional mealy taste.

Can you make cornstarch at home?

If you have a supply of corn on the cob or its ripe grains, then it is quite possible to prepare the stabilizer yourself. To do this you need:

1. Cut the grains from the heads of cabbage. There should be 0.5 kg. Rinse in cold water and drain.
2. Place them in a blender and grind. You can twist it in a meat grinder.
3. Pour 0.5 liters of cold water into the resulting mass. Stir several times and strain immediately.
4. The result will be a milky liquid. She needs to let it sit for several hours. Carefully drain the water from the container as much as possible, without lifting sediment from the bottom.
5. Dry the resulting starch in the oven at 40 degrees, covering a baking sheet with parchment. This will take several hours, during which you need to remove the product and mix it.

Before collecting the substance in a jar for storage, it must be allowed to cool. Since the homemade thickener has not been purified, it should not be stored for longer than 6 months.

Corn starch will bring many benefits in cooking and everyday life if used wisely. However, there is no need to attribute special medicinal properties to it, since it is a refined carbohydrate and only an auxiliary ingredient in recipes.

Why is it useful?

Corn starch can be both beneficial and harmful. Its beneficial effect on the body is as follows:

1. Reduces cholesterol and blood sugar levels, so diabetics and people on a diet can consume it in small quantities. For example, when eating according to the Dukan system, dishes should be prepared using this substance;
2. Improves the functioning of the central nervous system, indicated for stress and depression;
3. Increases blood clotting and has a positive effect on the condition of blood vessels, so it is recommended to use it for hypertension, anemia and diseases of the cardiovascular system;
4. Quickly satisfies hunger, because the process of breaking down the carbohydrates it contains lasts quite a long time;
5. The vitamin complex supports the immune system;
6. Used by athletes to accelerate muscle gain and activate the body's strength;
7. Promotes the excretion of urine and bile. Decoctions are prepared from it, which are used in the treatment of urolithiasis;
8. Approved for use by people with celiac disease - gluten intolerance.

This substance is used in folk and traditional medicine. Various medicinal drugs are prepared from it. It is included in some medications.

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Hello, my dear readers.

I really love cooking, I often experiment, try, make mistakes, but I don’t get upset about it. I think it’s better to try and make mistakes than to think, dream and do nothing.

When I come across something in a recipe that I don’t understand, I try to figure out what it’s for. This is my character, I can’t mindlessly repeat recipes. Does not work. I will definitely add something of my own.

Until recently, adding starch to dough was so incomprehensible to me. One day I came to visit my daughter, and she, as always, decided to surprise me with something delicious. It was pancakes.

My God! How delicious they were! Thin, crispy, I've never eaten anything like this! Like any woman, I inquired about the recipe. It turned out that she replaced some of the flour with cornstarch.

This recipe was the starting point. I began to read, to understand why starch is added to baked goods. And of course experiment. This is what I found out and of course checked.

• To prepare the dough for manti, add 30-40% corn starch. In this case, we can roll out the dough thinly and be sure that the dough will not tear during cooking. This dough can be used for dumplings and dumplings.
• To make thin, crispy pancakes, you need to replace some of the flour with cornstarch. They will turn out so tasty that they will not need to be greased with butter like regular pancakes.
• A sponge cake with added starch will be dry and very airy. To do this, take 2 parts flour and 1 part starch.
• I also make sure to add starch to berry pies, such as strawberry and raspberry pies. But here you need to know when to stop. One tablespoon in the filling or on the rolled out pie dough is enough. The filling will not spread and will be very tender.

And one more little trick. If you want to fry meat, chicken fillet, fish, cutlets and get a crispy crust, dip the pieces in starch. The dish will turn out very appetizing and tasty.

If you are making a sauce in which flour and butter are fried in a pan and liquid is added, you can replace the flour entirely with cornstarch. In my opinion it is more suitable for sauces.

It is up to you to choose which starch to use. I add corn to the dough. It seems to me that the baked goods turn out more appetizing, fluffy, and tender.

Potato starch is better suited for making jelly and berry pies, for breading meat and vegetables; it works better as a thickener and gives a beautiful crust.

Corn starch also does not contain gluten and is therefore considered a more dietary product.