Corn starch, cornstarch, cornflour or maize starch or maize is the starch derived from the corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a popular food ingredient used in thickening sauces or soups, and is used in making corn syrup and other sugars.
Video Corn starch
Physical properties
When mixed with a fluid, cornstarch can rearrange itself into a non-Newtonian fluid. For example, adding water transforms cornstarch into a material commonly known as Oobleck while adding oil transforms cornstarch into a Electrorheological fluid. The concept can be explained through the mixture termed "cornflour slime".
Maps Corn starch
History
Cornstarch was discovered in 1840 by Thomas Kingsford, superintendent of a wheat starch factory in Jersey City, New Jersey. Until 1851, corn starch was used primarily for starching laundry and other industrial uses.
Uses
Although mostly used for cooking and as a household item, cornstarch is used for many purposes in several industries, ranging from its use as a chemical additive for certain products, to medical therapy for certain illnesses.
Culinary
Cornstarch is used as a thickening agent in liquid-based foods (e.g., soup, sauces, gravies, custard), usually by mixing it with a lower-temperature liquid to form a paste or slurry. It is sometimes preferred over flour alone because it forms a translucent, rather than opaque mixture. As the starch is heated, the molecular chains unravel, allowing them to collide with other starch chains to form a mesh, thickening the liquid (Starch gelatinization).
It is usually included as an anti-caking agent in powdered sugar (10X or confectioner's sugar).
A common substitute is arrowroot, which replaces the same amount of cornstarch.
Food producers reduce production costs by adding varying amounts of cornstarch to foods, for example to cheese and yogurt.
Chicken nuggets with a thin outer layer of cornstarch allows increased oil absorption and crispness after the latter stages of frying.
Non-culinary
Baby powder often includes cornstarch among its ingredients.
Cornstarch can be used to manufacture bioplastics.
When roasted in a standard oven it produced dextrin, a chemical compound with uses ranging from adhesive to binder for fireworks.
Medical
Cornstarch is the preferred anti-stick agent on medical products made from natural latex, including condoms, diaphragms and medical gloves. Prior usage of talc was abandoned as talc was believed to be a carcinogen.
Cornstarch has properties that allow it to slowly releases a type of glucose over time. Thus, cornstarch has been used to supply glucose and maintain blood sugar levels to humans who have glycogen storage disease (GSD). Cornstarch can be used starting at age 6-12 months which allows feeds to be spaced and glucose fluctuations to be minimized.
Manufacture
The corn is steeped for 30 to 48 hours, which ferments it slightly. The germ is separated from the endosperm and those two components are ground separately (still soaked). Next the starch is removed from each by washing. The starch is separated from the corn steep liquor, the cereal germ, the fibers and the corn gluten mostly in hydrocyclones and centrifuges, and then dried. (The residue from every stage is used in animal feed and to make corn oil or other applications.) This process is called wet milling. Finally, the starch may be modified for specific purposes.
Risks
Like many other powders, cornstarch is susceptible to dust explosions. It is believed that overheating of a cornstarch-based powder on June 27, 2015, initiated the Formosa Fun Coast explosion in Taiwan, despite warnings on the packaging indicating that the material is flammable.
Names and varieties
- Called cornstarch in the United States and Canada. The term corn flour then refers to cornmeal that is very finely milled.
- Although not a flour as such, called cornflour in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Israel and some Commonwealth countries. Distinct in these countries from cornmeal.
See also
- Amylomaize, high amylose starch
- Bird's Custard, the English custard based on cornflour, invented in 1837
- Waxy corn, waxy maize starch
- Corn syrup
- Corn ethanol
- Modified starch
- Potato starch
- Tapioca starch
References
External links
- American Corn Refiners Association
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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