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Related Keywords
Corn Starch
Images : Corn Starch
General Description
Corn starch, cornstarch, or cornflour in Ireland and Commonwealth countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, is the starch of the corn or maize grain obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel. It has a distinctive appearance and feel when mixed raw with water or milk, giving easily to gentle pressure but resisting sudden pressure see Dilatant and Non-Newtonian fluid . It is usually included as an anticaking agent in powdered sugar 10X or confectioner's sugar . For this reason, recipes calling for powdered sugar often require at least light cooking to remove the raw corn starch taste. Corn starch or cornflour is also used as a thickening agent in soups and liquid-based foods, such as sauces, gravies and custard. As the starch is heated, the molecular chains unravel, allowing them to collide with other starch chains to form a mesh, thickening the liquid.
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. It is separated from the gluten and other substances, mostly in hydrocyclones and centrifuges, and dried. The residue from every stage is used in animal feed and other products . Finally the starch may be modified for specific purposes.
Amylophagia is a condition involving the compulsive consumption of excessive amounts of purified starch, often corn starch.


