Distinguishing the Quality of Edible Starch

Edible starch usually includes potato flour, sweet potato flour, horseshoe flour, water chestnut flour, etc Choosing starch can be distinguished by looking, smelling, and twisting to determine its quality

Look High quality starch, white and glossy, without impurities; Qualitative starch, yellow or grayish white in color, with impurities

Smell it There should be no other odors except for the smell of the raw materials

Twist This is the method for testing the dryness and humidity of starch Twist a small amount of starch with your fingers. If it is easy to loosen and feels smooth, it indicates that the starch is dry; If it is prone to clumping and has a sticky feeling, it indicates high humidity

Starch is widely present in the tubers and dried fruits of plants and vegetables. The starch used in cooking today includes water chestnut starch, potato starch, mung bean starch, sweet potato starch, wheat starch, etc. These starches each have their own characteristics.

1. Water chestnut starch: High quality water chestnuts contain 50% to 60% starch. Among domestic starches, water chestnut starch has the best quality. Its quality characteristics are: white color, rich luster, powdery texture, delicate and smooth, high viscosity, but poor water absorption.
2. Potato starch: Its quality characteristics are pink, white, glossy, highly viscous, and have poor water absorption. The quality is similar to that of water chestnut starch.
3. Green bean starch: known as soybean flour in the market, with a quality similar to that of water chestnut starch. Mostly used in the production of starch products, such as liangfen, fenpi, vermicelli, etc.
4. Pea starch: also known as bean flour in the market, with similar quality to mung bean flour.
5. Sweet potato starch: also known as taro starch or sweet potato starch. Its quality characteristics are dark color, rough texture, and poor viscosity. But it has strong expansibility and is also a raw material for producing products such as vermicelli.
6. Wheat starch: It is a byproduct of producing gluten from wheat flour, mostly wet starch, with a quality inferior to water chestnut starch, and is most commonly used in cooking.