Potato starch isstarch extracted frompotatoes. The cells of the roottubers of the potato plant containleucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. The starch is then left to settle out of solution or separated byhydrocyclones, then dried to powder.
Potato starch contains typical large oval spherical granules ranging in size from 5 to 100 μm. Potato starch is a refined starch, containing minimal protein or fat. This gives the powder a clear white colour, and the cooked starch typical characteristics of neutral taste, good clarity, high binding strength, long texture, and minimal tendency to foaming or yellowing of the solution.
Potato starch contains approximately 800ppmphosphate bound to the starch; this increases the viscosity and gives the solution a slightlyanionic character, a lowgelatinisation temperature of approximately 60 °C (140 °F),[1] and high swelling power.
These properties are used in food and technical applications.[2]
Starch derivatives are used in manycooking recipes, for example innoodles,wine gums, cocktail nuts,potato chips,extruded snacks,batteredfrench fries,hot dog sausages,bakery cream,processed cheese,cheese analogue andinstant soups and sauces, ingluten-free recipes,[3] inkosher foods forPassover[4] and inAsian cuisine.[5] Inpastry, e.g.sponge cake, it is used to keep the cake moist and give a soft texture. It is also occasionally used in the preparation of pre-packedgrated cheese, to reduce sweating and binding.[citation needed]
Other examples arehelmipuuro, a porridge made from monodisperse grains of potato starch andmilk, andpapeda (theMoluccan community in the Netherlands uses potato starch to makepapeda). It is also used in non-food applications aswallpaper adhesive, fortextile finishing andtextile sizing, inpaper coating andsizing, and as an adhesive inpaper sacks andgummed tape.[citation needed]
Potato starch was also used in one of the earlier color photography processes, theLumière brothers'Autochrome Lumière, until the arrival of other colour film processes in the mid-1930s.[citation needed]
Many types of potatoes are grown for the production of potato starch, potato varieties with high starch content and high starch yields are selected. Recently, a new type of potato plant was developed that only contains one type of starch molecule:amylopectin, thewaxy potato starch. Waxy starches, afterstarch gelatinisation,retrograde less during storage.[citation needed]
The cultivation of potatoes for starch mainly takes place in Germany, the Netherlands, China, Japan,[6] France, Denmark, and Poland, but also in Sweden, Finland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Canada, and India.[citation needed]
Some potato starch is also produced as abyproduct from the potato processing industry, recovered from the potato cutting circuit during the production ofFrench fries andpotato chips.[7]
Examined under a microscope using a mixture of equal volumes of glycerol and distilled water, potato starch presents transparent, colorless granules, either irregularly shaped, ovoid or pear-shaped, usually 30 μm to 100 μm in size but occasionally exceeding 100 μm, or rounded, 10 μm to 35 μm in size. Starch granules exhibit characteristic dark crosses in polarized light. If potato starch is wetted it becomes sticky.[citation needed]