Description of rice starch, industrial and home production. Calorie content and mineral composition, benefits and harms to the body. Cooking applications and interesting about the product.
Rice starch is a food product made from the cereal of the same name. In cooking, it is used to impart the desired consistency to foods and drinks (sauces, soups, jelly, etc.) and to absorb oil during frying. The structure is powdery, finely dispersed, with the size of individual grains from 2 to 4 microns; texture - smooth; color - white or creamy, with a bluish sheen; squeaks when rubbed. There is no taste or smell. Sometimes referred to as rice flour.
How is rice starch made?
The production of rice starch on an industrial scale uses continuous production lines. The raw material is hulled rice (grain shells are removed, but longitudinal stripes are preserved), it is cleaned on special sieves placed in vats with sodium hydroxide solution. The installed pump provides constant fluid circulation. During the process, impurities are removed from the feedstock.
To separate protein substances, the grain is soaked in hot water (50 ° C). Soft rice is crushed, re-treating with sodium hydroxide solution, until it is possible to obtain acidity pH 10. The resulting suspension is sent to sieves, where repeated grinding takes place. The intermediate product is washed.
The oversized product is removed, dried and further used as fodder, and the starch suspension is drained several times and processed in a centrifuge. Vacuum filters are used for dehydration, pneumatic dryers are used for drying, and the filtered liquid is re-filtered and the sediment is used for food purposes. The output of rice starch is up to 80%.
This is not the only way to industrially manufacture a food stabilizer. Sulfurous acid can be used instead of caustic soda. Brown rice is used as a raw material, and then the number of processes decreases - this type of cereal has less protein.
It is not always possible to buy rice starch in stores, it is rarely imported. The cost when ordering online from China is 130-170 rubles for 500 g. In stores, grinding from this cereal is sold, but more often it is made from hard varieties, therefore it is unprofitable to use it to thicken food products - the consumption is too high. However, the potato stabilizer is not suitable for making jellies and desserts.
How to make rice starch yourself
- Round rice is chosen as the starting material, which, when digested, forms a sticky porridge. This is the quality of the Krasnodar variety.
- Pour 1 kg into a glass jar with a volume of 3 liters and fill it with cold water so that the liquid is 5-6 cm above the surface.
- Leave to soak for 5 days, constantly changing the water to avoid fermentation.
- The liquid is removed, and the thick is crushed with a blender to obtain a whitish, slimy suspension.
- It is filtered through a sieve covered with gauze folded in several layers, and again poured into a jar.
- Leave for a day. The contents of the container should be divided into fractions - the water on top should be carefully removed so that it remains as little as possible. For this, it is convenient to use a syringe without a needle.
- To get high-quality rice starch at home, you need to pour the contents back onto a sieve covered with gauze. Then the fabric is straightened and left at room temperature for 12 hours.
- The gauze is periodically replaced with a new one until the final product is completely dry, and the layer is kneaded to speed up the process.
- When, when trying to rub the mass between the fingers, a characteristic creak appears, knead everything with a rolling pin, rubbing several times.
- The mixture is sieved through a sieve to saturate with air.
Store rice starch in a sealed jar, preferably in a dark place. Useful properties are preserved throughout the year. From 1 kg of raw materials, 950 g of the final product can be obtained.
Composition and calorie content of rice starch
In the photo, rice starch
The nutritional characteristics of starch depend on the manufacturing method and the type of raw material. Round glutinous rice contains more vegetable fat, while long, hard rice contains less. More end product can be obtained from brown grains, but at the same time it contains the least amount of protein.
The calorie content of rice starch is 348-366 kcal per 100 g, of which
- Proteins - 2, 2-4, 19 g;
- Fats - up to 0.77 g;
- Carbohydrates - 82, 7 g.
The rest is moisture.
There are no vitamins in rice starch.
Minerals per 100 g
- Sodium - 11mg;
- Potassium - 2 mg;
- Calcium - 29 mg;
- Magnesium - 8 mg;
- Phosphorus - 20 mg;
- Iron - 1.5 mg;
- Zinc - 0.1 mg;
- Copper - 0, 0 64 mg.
The benefits and harms of rice starch depend on the variety of the original cereal. When making a product from brown varieties, the content of phenolic compounds increases. If white round grains are used as raw materials, the adsorbing properties increase due to the residual content of endosperm, in the case of using long rice, the zinc content increases. But in appearance it is impossible to understand from what grade the food stabilizer was made. However, compositional changes are monitored only during laboratory biochemical evaluation of samples.
Benefits of Rice Starch
Nutritionists use the positive effect of a food product on the human body for medicinal purposes. It is recommended to be introduced as an ingredient for dishes in the menu of patients suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and urinary system.
The benefits of rice starch
- Possesses adsorbent and enveloping properties, forms a film on the surface of the intestinal mucosa, protects it from the aggressive effects of digestive juices. It reduces inflammation caused by irritation from poor diet or increased activity of H. pylori (a bacteria currently believed to be responsible for the development of peptic ulcer disease).
- Does not cause allergic reactions as it does not contain gluten.
- Possesses high nutritional properties, replenishes energy reserves.
- Increases the body's defenses.
- Helps get rid of edema, stimulates urination.
- Promotes the elimination of toxins.
Rice starch can replace some of the flour. This supplement reduces the absorption of food entering the body, and reduces the likelihood of the formation of body fat.
The product can be introduced into the diet of children from 4 months of age. At this age, the digestive tract of an infant is sufficiently prepared to process this carbohydrate into glucose, and then into energy. In addition, due to its absorbent properties, the delicate mucous membrane will be protected from the effects of fruit acids.
The beneficial properties of rice starch for skin and hair were first appreciated by cosmetologists in Korea, China and Japan, and then in European countries. The substance is used to protect against external influences, cleanse the skin and hair, eliminate irritation and pigmentation.
