Characteristics of cassava starch
Color: Cassava starch is white.
Odorless: Cassava starch has no odor, and is suitable for products requiring fine odor adjustment such as food and cosmetics.
Plain taste: Cassava starch has no taste and aftertaste (such as corn), so it is more suitable for products that need fine taste adjustment, such as pudding, cake, stuffing cake and so on.
Clear paste: the paste formed after cassava starch cooking is clear and transparent, which is suitable for color matching with pigments. This characteristic is also very important for tapioca starch to be used for sizing high-grade paper.
Viscosity: Cassava starch has a peak viscosity because the ratio of amylopectin to amylose is as high as 80:20. This feature is suitable for many purposes. At the same time, cassava starch can also be modified to eliminate stickiness and produce loose structure, which is very important in many food processing.
High freeze-thaw stability: Cassava starch paste shows relatively low reversibility, so it can prevent water loss during freeze-thaw cycle. This feature can be further enhanced by modification.
Use of cassava starch
Cassava starch, as raw starch and various modified starches, is widely used in food industry and non-food industry.
Modified starch can be customized according to the specific requirements put forward by users to adapt to special purposes.
food
Cassava starch is widely used in food formulations, such as baked products, and also used to make extruded snacks and cassava beads. Modified starch or starch derivatives have been used as thickeners, adhesives, fillers and stabilizers, and are also the best fillers, sweeteners, flavoring carriers and fat substitutes. Foods using Thai cassava starch include canned food, frozen food, dry mixed food, baked food, snack food, seasoning, soup, sausage, dairy products, meat and fish products and baby food.
Drinks
Modified starch is used as colloid stabilizer in beverages containing solid components. The application of cassava starch sweetener in beverages is better than sucrose, because the former improves the processing technology and strengthens the product characteristics, and can fully meet the needs of consumers when used with other sweeteners. The syrup with high degree of hydrolysis formed by cassava starch hydrolysis is an ideal source of fermentable sugar in beer brewing.
candy
Cassava starch and various modified starches have many uses in candy production, such as gelling, thickening, stabilizing the system, enhancing foaming, controlling crystallization, bonding, forming films, adding luster and so on. Low viscosity tapioca starch is widely used to gel candy, such as frozen and chewing gum. Acid-hydrolyzed starch is the most commonly used, because it has excellent reversibility and gelling ability, and these characteristics are more obvious when sugar is involved. Dry starch is used as a release agent in candy manufacturing. Starch-based polysaccharide realized the production of sugar-free chewing gum.
chemical industry
Cassava starch-based syrup can be produced at low cost by acid hydrolysis or enzymolysis, so it can be used as raw materials to produce various chemicals, such as sodium glutamate, amino acids, organic acids, ethanol, ketones, vitamins and antibiotics.
Adhesives and glues
Cassava starch dextrin is an excellent adhesive, which is widely used, including corrugated board, paper bag, plywood, adhesive tape, adhesive tape, labels, stamps, envelopes and so on.
make paper
The application of modified starch in paper industry can improve paper quality, productivity and pulp utilization. Cationic starch is used to flocculate pulp and improve wet-end dewatering efficiency. As a result, a higher paper machine speed can be used, and a higher pulp utilization rate can be obtained. The starch left on the finished paper can be used as an internal sizing agent to increase the strength of the paper. Low viscosity starch, such as oxidized starch, can be used as surface sizing agent to improve paper strength and ink absorption in printing and writing. Modified starch is also used as a binder in pigment coating to produce smooth and white high-grade paper.
Spinning and weaving
In the textile industry, cassava starch is often used as a sizing agent to harden and protect yarns in order to improve textile efficiency. Used as finishing agent to produce fabrics with smooth feel; Used as colorant to obtain clear and wear-resistant printed cloth. For textile applications, it is more desirable to use lightly cooked starch.
Medicines and cosmetics
Cassava starch and modified starch can be used as binders, fillers and disintegrants in tablet production. Specially modified starch can be used as a carrier for emollients, which are usually mineral oil-based substances. Other modified starches can be used as emulsifiers, encapsulating agents (vitamins), styling agents (hair gels) and thickening agents (shampoos).
Biodegradable material
Cassava starch and modified starch can be mixed with petroleum-based or synthetic polymer materials to improve the biodegradability of the materials, thus minimizing the production cost of this environmentally friendly material.