Starch facts for kids

Beju, a pancake made from cassava and starch

Starch is a complex carbohydrate. It is made of many glucose units joined by chemical bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants as an energy store. It is the most common carbohydrate in human diets. Pasta, potatoes, bread, and other starchy foods are made out of carbohydrates.

Starch in every day activities.

Starch in food

Some good food sources of starch are cereals, bread, potatoes, grains, peas, and beans. Starch is also used for thickening sauces in cooking and thickening cold foods during a preheat. Starch is a white powder that is tasteless and odourless. You might know cornstarch or cornflour which is a popular kind of starch made from corn.

Foods with a lot of starch produce more energy than other foods. However, if this energy is not used, it is turned into fat by our livers.

Laundry starch

There are also different kinds of starch, like laundry starch, which gives clothing a smooth and crisp feel. Sweat and dirt from a person’s wrist and neck will stick to the starch on the clothes, not to the fibers of the clothes, and will wash away along with the starch. Then, after each laundry load, the starch can be used again.

Other facts

Starch glues are used in wood, cotton, and bonding of paper. Animals and humans have amylase, so they can digest starch. Starch was used in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries to stiffen the collars and ruffs of the fine linen which surrounded the neck. Starch also requires heat to thicken. The actual temperature depends on the type of starch.

Images for kids

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  Starch mill at Ballydugan (Northern Ireland), built in 1792

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  Faultless Starch Company at Kansas City

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  Potato starch granules in cells of the potato

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  Starch in endosperm in embryonic phase of maize seed

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  Corn starch, 800x magnified, under polarized light, showing characteristic extinction cross

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  Rice starch under transmitted light microscopy. A characteristic of rice starch is that granules have an angular outline and have a tendency to clump

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  Granules of wheat starch, stained with iodine, photographed through a light microscope

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  Sago starch extraction from palm stems

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  Glucose syrup

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  Karo corn syrup advert 1917

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  Niagara corn starch advert 1880s

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  Pacific Laundry and Cooking Starch advert 1904

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  Starch adhesive

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  Gentleman with starched ruff in 1560

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  Kingsford Oswego Starch advertising, 1885

See also

In Spanish: Almidón para niños