Column IJsbrand Velzeboer: Starch tricks

When you add 5% cornstarch to 1 liter of water in a pan and bring this mixture to a boil (heating is essential to trigger the process), you can flip the pan upside down once it’s cooled—without making a mess. I have no clue why you’d want to, but it is possible! Starch is the ideal water binder.

The starch granules inside plant cells swell when cooked, burst, and then bind to the water. Potatoes and wheat have large granules, while rice granules are much smaller. The smaller the granules, the smoother the mouthfeel. The food industry’s efficiency largely depends on this simple ingredient. Instant soup, for example, contains plenty of modified starch. It can quickly bind hot water, creating a ‘hearty’ soup. By adding lots of water to the product, the nutritional value drops, and the Nutri-Score shifts to the left—resulting in a better score. This is what we call deception.

Consumers can easily spot this water trick—if they know how to read the nutritional label properly. You might see something like: ‘carbohydrates 3.7%, of which sugars 3.2%.’ That leaves 0.5% starch, which is also a carbohydrate. Roughly, this can bind 10% extra moisture, while water itself isn’t listed as an ingredient. In my book ‘Leugens op mijn bord’ (Lies on my plate), I provide examples of the water tricks used in drinkable yogurts. To give water-diluted yogurt its structure, starch is added, making it seem like a thick product again.

Starch is everywhere. Even books contain it. A bit of starch powder between freshly printed sheets prevents annoying smudging. That’s why you sometimes end up with white fingers when flipping through pages. QA managers need to stay vigilant about this. Be sure that when printing labels, common potato starch isn’t accidentally replaced with wheat starch. Prevent cross-contamination with allergens!

And did you know that starch can also be used as a weapon against graffiti vandals? By spraying a thin layer on walls, you can easily wash away the ‘tags’ with warm water. Without any mess.

IJsbrand Velzeboer
Food technologist with a critical eye
Scienta Nova