STARCHES & SAUCES

Starchy foods are the mainstays of diets throughout the world. In Ireland in the mid-
1800s, the potato was so important to the diet that a widespread potato blight
resulted in famine and starvation for many thousands of Irish people.
 In China, Japan, India, and other Asian countries, rice is the most important
staple food, followed by a wide variety of noodles. Certain African countries
rely on roots, tubers, and sorghum (a grain) as the main starch.
 As a complex carbohydrate, starch provides energy, and a well-balanced diet derives
at least 55 to 65 percent of its calories (kcal) from carbohydrates. Starches are made
up of glucose molecules synthesized by plants through the process of photosynthesis
so they can be obtained only by consuming foods of plant origin. The glucose is
converted to starch by the plant, and then utilized for energy or stored in the seeds,
roots, stems, or tubers.
 When foods from these sources are ingested by mammals, including humans,
the digestion process converts the starch back to glucose. Such starches provide
4 calories (kcal) of energy per gram.
 The food industry makes widespread use of the thickening capability if starches as
well as of their abilities to act as stabilizers, texturizers, water or fat, binders, fat
substitutes, and emulsification aids. Starches contribute to the texture, taste, and
appearance of foods such as sauces, gravies, cream soups, Chinese dishes, salad
dressings, and desserts, including cream pies, fruit pies, puddings, and tapioca.
STARCHES AS THICKENERS

The word starch is derived from the Germanic root word meaning
stiff, and commercial starch lives up to the original meaning by acting
as a thickening or gelling agent in food preparation. Plants serve as the
source of starch granules, which are the plant cells unit for storing
starch. Starch granules differ in size and shape, depending on their
botanical origin.
Cereals such as wheat and rice are common source of starch.
Root starch includes potatoes, arrowroot, and cassava (tapioca).
Other sources of complex carbohydrates are dried beans, peas, and the
sago palm. Potato starch granules are the largest, while corn, tapioca,
rice and taro root starch granules are progressively smaller
 Optical microscope images of starch
granules at magnification 40:
(a) rice,
(b) cassava,
(c) canna,
(d) mung bean,
(e) sago,
(f) sweet potato.