Cornstarch

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Cornstarch

Cornstarch, or cornflour, is the starch

Starch

File:Amylose2.svgFile:Amylopektin Sessel.svgStarch or amylum is a polysaccharide carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds....
of the corn (maize

Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
) grain. It is also grown from the endosperm

Endosperm

Endosperm is the tissue produced in the seeds of most flowering plants around the time of fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch, though it can also contain Vegetable oils and protein....
, or white heart, of the corn kernel

Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
. It has a distinctive appearance and feel when mixed raw with water

Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
or milk

Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
, giving easily to gentle pressure but resisting sudden pressure (see Non-Newtonian fluid

Non-Newtonian fluid

A non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid whose flow properties are not described by a single constant value of viscosity. Many polymer solutions and molten polymers are non-Newtonian fluids, as are many commonly found substances such as ketchup, starch suspensions, paint, blood and shampoo....
).

Nutrition Facts

????? Nutrition Facts
Calories in ?????
Carbs in ?????
Fat in ?????

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Cornstarch'

Start a new discussion about 'Cornstarch'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Recent Posts

Cornstarch! xDDDD

Encyclopedia

Cornstarch, or cornflour, is the starch

Starch

Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
) grain. It is also grown from the endosperm

Endosperm

Seed

Water

Milk

Non-Newtonian fluid

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
(10X or confectioner's sugar). For this reason, recipes calling for powdered sugar often call for at least light cooking to remove the raw cornstarch taste. Cornstarch or cornflour is also used as a thickening agent in soups and liquids. As the starch is heated by the liquid, the molecule chains unravel, allowing them to collide with other starch chains to form a mesh - thus slowing the movement of water molecules. This results in thickening of the liquid, be it soup, stock or other culinary liquids.

Manufacture

The corn is steeped for 30 to 48 hours, which ferments it a little. The germ

Cereal germ

The germ of a cereal is the reproductive part that germinates to grow into a plant; it is the embryo of the seed....
is separated from the endosperm

Endosperm

Gluten

Gluten is a composite of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. These exist, conjoined with starch, in the endosperms of some Triticeae glutens cereal, notably wheat, rye, and barley....
and other substances, mostly in hydrocyclones and centrifuge

Centrifuge

A centrifuge is a piece of equipment, generally driven by a motor, that puts an object in rotation around a fixed axis, applying a force perpendicular to the axis....
s, and dried. (The residue from every stage is used in animal feed

Fodder

In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs....
and other products.) Finally the starch may be modified

Modified starch

Modified starch is a food additive which is prepared by treating starch or starch granules, causing the starch to be partially degraded. Modified starch is used as a thickening agent, Food additive#Categories, or an emulsifier....
for specific purposes.

Other

Amylophagia

Amylophagia is a condition involving the compulsion consumption of excessive amounts of purified starch. It is a form of pica and is often observed in pregnancy women....
is a condition involving the compulsive consumption of excessive amounts of purified starch, often cornstarch.

Other names and varieties

Called cornflour in Commonwealth
Commonwealth

The England noun commonwealth dates from the fifteenth century. The original phrase "common-wealth" or "the common weal" comes from the old meaning of "wealth," which is "well-being." The term literally meant "common well-being." Thus commonwealth originally meant a state or nation-state governed for the common good as opposed to an autho...
countries.