Starch facts for kids

A beiju, which is a type of pancake made from cassava starch.

Starch is a special kind of carbohydrate that gives us energy. Think of it like a long chain made up of many small sugar units called glucose. Most plants create starch to store energy, just like we store energy in our bodies. It's a very common part of what humans eat every day. Foods like pasta, potatoes, and bread are full of starch.

Starch in Our Daily Lives

Starch in Food

You can find a lot of starch in foods like cereals, bread, potatoes, grains, peas, and beans. Starch is also used in cooking to make sauces thicker. It's a white powder that doesn't have any taste or smell. You might know cornstarch, which is a popular type of starch made from corn.

Foods that have a lot of starch give us more energy than other foods. But if we don't use this energy, our livers can turn it into fat.

Starch for Clothes

There are different kinds of starch. For example, laundry starch is used to make clothes feel smooth and crisp. When you wear starched clothes, sweat and dirt from your neck and wrists stick to the starch, not to the fabric itself. This means the dirt washes away easily with the starch, and you can use starch again after each wash.

Interesting Facts About Starch

Starch is also used as a glue for things like wood, cotton, and paper. Both animals and humans have something called amylase in their bodies, which helps them break down and digest starch.

Long ago, in the 1500s and 1600s in Europe, starch was used to stiffen the fancy collars and ruffs that people wore around their necks. Starch also needs heat to become thick. The exact temperature needed 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 inside cells of a potato

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  Starch in the endosperm of a maize seed during its early growth

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  Corn starch, magnified 800 times, seen under polarized light, showing a special pattern

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  Rice starch under a microscope. Rice starch granules are often angular and tend to clump together.

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  Granules of wheat starch, colored with iodine, seen through a light microscope

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  Sago starch being taken from palm stems

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  Glucose syrup

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  Karo corn syrup advertisement from 1917

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  Niagara corn starch advertisement from the 1880s

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  Pacific Laundry and Cooking Starch advertisement from 1904

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  Starch adhesive

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  A gentleman wearing a starched ruff in 1560

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  Kingsford Oswego Starch advertisement from 1885

See also

In Spanish: Almidón para niños