Ingredient Challenges: Ingredients In Global Use, Starch Search
“The base starch is a very initial starting place,” he says. “Some of the generalities concerning native starches from ten years ago aren't even true anymore.” Corn starches can take on the properties of other starch materials and vice versa. Sometimes manufacturers can modify a starch and get the exact viscosity they want using an [atypical] starch source with different commercial preparations.
For instance, root starches and tubers like cassava (also known as tapioca) and potato tend to expand better in extrusion operations, but given a certain process condition, a corn starch will expand extremely well also. “When modified, the different starch bases that contribute to unique functionality and textures in food systems are virtually limitless,” says Joseph Light, senior director of customer solutions at a starch ingredient supplier.