Starches are ubiquitous in foods—almost as prevalent as water. They are highly versatile ingredients used in a wide range of food products, in everything from soup to nuts. Starches tightly seal burritos, stick wallpaper to walls, and coat medicine tablets.
Food scientists first learn about starches in a Carbohydrates 101 course. Fundamentally, starch is a polysaccharide made of long chains of glucose: linear amylose molecules and branched amylopectin molecules that typically comes from sources such as corn, tapioca, wheat, rice and potato. Instruments from companies such as C.W. Brabender Instruments Inc., South Hackensack, NJ, are used to measure key attributes such as viscosity.