Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadl ...
) is the
starch
Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human die ...
derived from corn (
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...
) grain. The starch is obtained from the
endosperm of the
kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken
sauce
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...
s or
soups, and to make
corn syrup and other
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...
s. Corn starch is versatile, easily modified, and finds many uses in industry such as
adhesive
Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation.
The use of adhesives offers certain advant ...
s, in paper products, as an anti-sticking agent, and
textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...
manufacturing. It has medical uses as well, such as to supply glucose for people with
glycogen storage disease.
Like many products in dust form, it can be hazardous in large quantities due to its
flammability—see
dust explosion. When mixed with a fluid, corn starch can rearrange itself into a
non-Newtonian fluid. For example, adding water transforms corn starch into a material commonly known as
oobleck while adding oil transforms corn starch into an
electrorheological (ER) fluid. The concept can be explained through the mixture termed "cornflour slime".
History
Until 1851, corn starch was used primarily for
starching laundry and for other industrial uses.
A method to produce pure culinary starch from maize was patented by John Polson of Brown & Polson, in
Paisley,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
in 1854. This was sold as "Patented Corn Flour". Brown & Polson were muslin manufacturers who had been producing laundry starch for the
Paisley shawl industry and would become the largest starch producers in the UK.
Uses
Although mostly used for cooking and as a household item, corn starch is used for many purposes in several industries, ranging from its use as a chemical additive for certain products, to medical therapy for certain illnesses.
Culinary
Corn starch is used as a
thickening agent
A thickening agent or thickener is a substance which can increase the viscosity of a liquid without substantially changing its other properties. Edible thickeners are commonly used to thicken sauces, soups, and puddings without altering the ...
in liquid-based foods (e.g.,
soup,
sauce
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...
s,
gravies,
custard), usually by mixing it with a lower-temperature liquid to form a paste or slurry. It is sometimes preferred over
flour alone because it forms a
translucent, rather than
opaque
Opacity or opaque may refer to:
* Impediments to (especially, visible) light:
** Opacities, absorption coefficients
** Opacity (optics), property or degree of blocking the transmission of light
* Metaphors derived from literal optics:
** In lingui ...
mixture. As the starch is heated over , the molecular chains unravel, allowing them to collide with other starch chains to form a mesh, thickening the liquid (
Starch gelatinization). However, continued boiling breaks up the molecules and thins the liquid.
Cornstarch is usually included as an
anticaking agent in
powdered sugar (icing or confectioner's sugar).
A common substitute is
arrowroot starch, which replaces the same amount of corn starch.
Food producers reduce production costs by adding varying amounts of corn starch to foods, for example to cheese and yogurt.
Chicken nuggets with a thin outer layer of corn starch allows increased oil absorption and crispness after the latter stages of frying.
Non-culinary
Baby powder
Baby powder is an astringent powder used for preventing diaper rash and for cosmetic uses. It may be composed of talc (in which case it is also called talcum powder) or corn starch. It may also contain additional ingredients like fragrances. ...
may include corn starch among its ingredients. Corn starch can be used to manufacture
bioplastics and may be used in the manufacture of
airbags.
Adhesive
Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation.
The use of adhesives offers certain advant ...
can be made from corn starch, traditionally one of the adhesives that may be used to make paste papers. It dries with a slight sheen compared to wheat starch. It may also be used as an adhesive in book and paper conservation.
Medical
Corn starch is the preferred anti-stick agent on medical products made from natural
latex
Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well.
In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...
, including
condoms,
diaphragms, and
medical glove
Medical gloves are disposable gloves used during medical examinations and procedures to help prevent cross-contamination between caregivers and patients. Medical gloves are made of different polymers including latex, nitrile rubber, polyvinyl ...
s.
Corn starch has properties enabling supply of glucose to maintain blood sugar levels for people with
glycogen storage disease.
Corn starch can be used starting at age 6–12 months allowing glucose fluctuations to be deterred.
Manufacture
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. The starch is separated from the
corn steep liquor Corn steep liquor is a by-product of corn wet-milling. A viscous concentrate of corn solubles which contains amino acids, vitamins and minerals, it is an important constituent of some growth media. It was used in the culturing of ''Penicillium'' du ...
, the
cereal germ, the fibers and the
corn gluten mostly in
hydrocyclone Hydrocyclones are a type of cyclonic separators that separate product phases mainly on basis of differences in gravity with aqueous solutions as the primary feed fluid.
As opposed to dry or dust cyclones, which separate solids from gasses, hydrocy ...
s and
centrifuge
A centrifuge is a device that uses centrifugal force to separate various components of a fluid. This is achieved by spinning the fluid at high speed within a container, thereby separating fluids of different densities (e.g. cream from milk) or ...
s, and then dried. (The residue from every stage is used in
animal feed and to make
corn oil or other applications.) This process is called
wet milling. Finally, the starch may be
modified
Modified may refer to:
* ''Modified'' (album), the second full-length album by Save Ferris
*Modified racing, or "Modifieds", an American automobile racing genre
See also
* Modification (disambiguation)
* Modifier (disambiguation)
Modifier may re ...
for specific purposes.
Risks
Like many other powders, corn starch is susceptible to
dust explosions. It is believed that overheating of a corn starch-based powder on 27 June 2015, initiated the
Formosa Fun Coast explosion
On 27 June 2015, a dust fire occurred at Formosa Fun Coast, a water park in Bali, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Staff of an outdoor "color powder party" sprayed clouds of corn starch towards the participants, which ignited. The fire lasted 40 seco ...
in Taiwan, despite warnings on the packaging indicating that the material is flammable.
Names and varieties
* Called ''corn starch'' in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
. The term ''corn flour'' refers to cornmeal that is very finely milled; or, to
masa flour.
* It is called ''cornflour'' in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and some
Commonwealth countries. Distinct in these countries from
cornmeal.
See also
*
Amylomaize Amylomaize was a term coined in the late 1940s by Robert P. Bear of Bear Hybrids Corn Company in Decatur, Illinois to describe his discovery and commercial breeding of a cornstarch with high (>50%) amylose content, also called high amylose starch. ...
, high amylose starch
*
Bird's Custard, the English custard based on cornflour, invented in 1837
*
Waxy corn, waxy maize starch
*
Corn sauce Corn sauce or fermented corn sauce is produced by fermentation using corn starch as the primary substrate. It is used as a food condiment and ingredient, both in paste and in powder form. Corn sauce, like soy sauce, has a characteristic Umami, savor ...
*
Corn syrup
*
Corn ethanol
*
Modified starch
*
Potato starch
Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. ...
*
Semolina
Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well.
Ety ...
*
Tapioca
Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America ...
starch
References
External links
American Corn Refiners Association
{{corn
Maize products
Starch
Edible thickening agents
1840 introductions