Cooked flour (ie Taibaifen), also known as bean flour and bean flour, is made from broad beans or water chestnuts. Cornstarch has a wide range of uses. It can be used as a seasoning for stir-fries, jelly, and even pancakes. It is mainly used for sizing and thickening when processing meat raw materials. In Chinese food, it refers to starch. It is used for thickening and sizing when cooking. There are many kinds, such as sweet potato starch, water bean flour used in Sichuan cuisine, and corn starch. etc. Cornstarch is starch, which can be of many kinds, generally refers to corn starch

Starch is a high polymer of glucose. It is hydrolyzed to the disaccharide stage to maltose, and glucose is obtained after complete hydrolysis. There are two types of starch: amylose and amylopectin. Amylose contains hundreds of glucose units, and amylopectin contains several thousand glucose units. In natural starch, amylose accounts for about 22% to 26%, which is soluble, and the rest is amylopectin. When tested with iodine solution, amylose solution appears blue, while amylopectin turns reddish brown when in contact with iodine.

Starch is a nutrient stored in plants and is found in seeds and tubers. The starch content in all types of plants is high. Rice contains 62% to 86% starch, and wheat contains 57% starch. ~75%, corn contains 65% ~ 72% starch, and potatoes contain 12% ~ 14% starch. Starch is an important component of food. When chewing rice, you feel a little sweet. This is because amylase in saliva hydrolyzes starch into simple sugars. After food enters the gastrointestinal tract, it can also be hydrolyzed by amylase secreted by the pancreas, and the glucose formed is absorbed by the small intestinal wall and becomes a nutrient for human tissues. Partial hydrolysis of amylopectin produces a mixture called dextrin. Dextrin is mainly used as food additives, glue, paste, and in the manufacturing (finishing) of paper and textiles.

Types of starch

The starch used for thickening, also called dough, is a polysaccharide polymer formed by the condensation of multiple glucose molecules. Starches used for cooking mainly include mung bean starch, potato starch, wheat starch, water chestnut starch, lotus root starch, corn starch, etc. Starch is insoluble in water and gelatinizes into a colloidal solution when heated to 60°C with water. Thickening takes advantage of this property of starch.

Mung bean starch

Mung bean starch is the best starch and is rarely used. It is made from mung beans soaked in water, ground and then precipitated. The characteristics are: sufficient viscosity, low water absorption, white and shiny color.

Potato starch

Potato starch is a starch commonly used in households today. It is made by grinding potatoes, washing them, and precipitating them. The characteristics are: sufficient viscosity, fine texture, white color, and gloss better than mung bean starch, but poor water absorption.

Wheat starch

Wheat starch is precipitated from wheat bran after washing the gluten or made from flour. Its characteristics are: white in color, but with poor luster, not as good as potato flour in quality, and easy to precipitate after thickening.

Sweet potato starch

Sweet potato starch is characterized by strong water absorption capacity, but poor viscosity, dull color, dark red with black color, and is made by grating, rubbing and precipitating fresh potatoes. .

In addition, there are corn starch, water chestnut starch, lotus root starch, water chestnut starch, etc.