What is potato starch, chemical properties and calorie content. The benefits and harms of the gelling agent for the body. How to make starch from potatoes yourself, what dishes are prepared from it. Interesting facts about food. When calculating the calorie content of dishes, this value should be added to the main one. But it must be borne in mind that there are no fats in the composition of potato starch. If you increase your physical activity, these carbohydrates will quickly burn and body fat will not form.
Useful properties of potato starch
In the medical industry, the gelling agent is often used to make capsule and tablet shells. But convenience and ease of dissolution are not the only positive qualities.
The benefits of potato starch:
- Dissolves bad cholesterol. Prevents vascular hardening and the development of diseases of the cardiovascular system, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, strokes and heart attacks of various etiologies.
- Maintains water and electrolyte balance, accelerates kidney function, helps to get rid of edema.
- Forms a protective film on the mucous membrane of the stomach and duodenum, reduces the likelihood of developing peptic ulcer and alleviates the condition if the digestive organs are already affected.
- Activates the production of riboflavin, vitamin B2. This substance stimulates the synthesis of hemoglobin and increases the body's defenses, prevents the development of anemia and accelerates the process of losing weight, improves the quality of the skin, teeth, hair and nails.
- Helps the body to cope with alcohol intoxication, prolongs the life cycle of liver cells - hepatocytes.
The pronounced therapeutic effect of the gelling agent can be seen when applied externally. For burns, allergic reactions to insect bites, grass burns, and itching, which is a symptom of certain diseases, lotions are made from starch powder or simply covered with a thin layer of solution to eliminate unpleasant symptoms. Starch compresses will help cure mastitis and furunculosis.
Women use a gelling agent extensively as an ingredient in home cosmetics. Starch masks whiten, tighten the skin, prevent age-related changes, help smooth out the first wrinkles and retain moisture.
Harm and contraindications to potato starch
Even those who can eat potatoes after heat treatment without consequences may develop an individual starch intolerance. Allergic reactions are typical: itchy skin, rash, sore throat, diarrhea.
Potato starch can cause harm when abused, since it accumulates in the body and is not excreted for a long time, which causes flatulence, fermentation, belching and nausea. Excessive starchy compounds in the body causes frequent colds.
Refined potato starch of industrial production is a genetically modified product. Constant introduction into the diet can provoke an imbalance of hormones, increase (rather than lower) blood sugar levels, cause disturbances in the functioning of the visual system and degeneration of neoplastic cells.
We present the benefits and harms of potato starch in the form of a table:
| Benefit | Harm |
| Antioxidant effect, removes heavy metals | Reduces blood sugar levels, which can cause hypoglycemic coma in diabetics |
| Stimulates bone regeneration and growth | |
| Improves liver health |
When thinking about how to make potato starch, you need to use only ripe tubers, without signs of greenery and spoilage. In potatoes ripened in the light, the poison solanine accumulates, which causes intoxication. When using rotting tubers, poisoning can cause the introduction of pathogenic microorganisms into the body.
How to cook potato starch
To protect yourself and your family from the negative effects of a genetically modified product, you need to learn how to make a gelling substance yourself. It is not recommended to use rotten potatoes, but the option with frozen tubers is ideal.
How to make potato starch:
- They choose ripe potatoes of late-ripening varieties, clean all the dirt from the peel, remove the nests, darkened parts. It is better to peel the skin, but if the whiteness of the final product is not necessary, rinsing is sufficient. By the way, you can remove yellowness during the cooking process.
- Potatoes are chopped: on a grater, in a meat grinder, in a blender bowl. Grinding in a blender is more convenient, since the earlier the water is added, the better the final product will be.
- Pour potato gruel with water in a proportion of 1 kg per 3-3.5 liters, mix thoroughly, let stand for 2-3 hours.
- Filter everything through cheesecloth folded in several layers. The pomace is squeezed out and removed.
- The liquid is settled until starch settles to the bottom, and foam appears on top.
- Carefully drain the dirt from above and add clean water. Stir, let the starch settle again. The action is repeated until the foam ceases to rise to the surface. You have to repeat it 4-6 times.
- Slowly drain the water so as not to lose the starch remaining at the bottom. It is laid out on a baking sheet covered with foil.
- It is better to dry it in the sun, but it is also possible in the oven at a temperature of 40 ° C, with the door ajar. If the layer starts to melt (gel), it will have to be thrown away.
- The finished product is rolled out with a rolling pin to crush it into powder, or grind in a coffee grinder if the lumps cannot be broken.
If during storage to ensure tightness without air access, darkness, then the shelf life is unlimited.
Potato starch recipes
The gelling product is used for the preparation of pastries, desserts, drinks, hot dishes.
Delicious Potato Starch Recipes:
- Sausage salad … Dice hard cheese and regular soft sausage. Sausage should be 2 times more than cheese. Knead the dough from beaten eggs, potato starch. Salted to taste. The dough should be thick, homogeneous, but pouring. Fry the dough like a pancake, cut it into strips. Season the salad with grated garlic, mayonnaise, sprinkle with parsley and dill.
- Cake … The dough is kneaded according to a certain algorithm. 100 g of butter is slightly softened and mixed with the same amount by weight of powdered sugar, rubbing vigorously. A whole egg and the protein of another one are driven into a homogeneous mass. Only then pour 50 g of flour and potato starch, a teaspoon of baking powder, bring to full homogeneity. Pour crushed walnuts or raisins into the dough. The mold is greased with sunflower oil, the dough is poured in, baked at a temperature of 180-200 ° C. Check with a toothpick. Baking time is about 40-45 minutes.
- Citrus cream … For cooking, use tangerines or oranges (6 or 3 pieces). The fruits are washed, removed moisture with a paper towel, allowed to dry a little to remove the zest with a grater. Juice is squeezed out of the pulp. Beat the yolks with 150 g of sugar, combine with citrus juice, heat over low heat, dropping pieces of butter into a ladle, one at a time (100 g of butter is needed in total). Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until the juice becomes thick. The sauce is boiled down by a quarter. Can be served with meat or fish.
- Chicken cutlets … Chicken meat, 500 g, is chopped together with half onions and a small zucchini, which has been previously peeled. To make the minced meat drier, add 2 tablespoons of potato starch. Cutlets are formed, breaded in breadcrumbs. Can be sautéed in sunflower oil or cooked in a double boiler. Stewing is not recommended, as the cutlets will crumble in the water, they are already too wet.
- Marshmallow … Peel apples, 200 g. Cut, boil in a little water - if only it reaches the surface, interrupt in mashed potatoes. If the apples are very juicy, it is best to cook them in the microwave. Add 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 tablespoon to the puree. starch and a little less than a glass of sugar. Everything is placed on fire and the syrup is boiled for 15 minutes. Dissolve 160 g of gelatin in water, pour into a blender bowl and combine with hot syrup. Beat until the mass becomes airy and the volume increases by 3 times. The baking sheet is covered with parchment, the future marshmallow is laid out with a spoon or squeezed out of a pastry bag. Freeze is placed in the refrigerator on a shelf with the lowest temperature. Sprinkle the finished dessert with icing sugar.
- Cheese baskets … Knead the dough from a glass of grated cheese, a tablespoon of potato starch and 1-2 chopped garlic cloves. Place in a hot skillet and melt until a homogeneous structure is obtained. Turn over, fry a little, lay out to cool on a cup so that the edges hang down. The cooled "plates" are turned over and filled with any salad: vegetables and tomatoes, carrots with garlic, fish.
Potato Starch Drink Recipes
There are few drink options - jelly and fruit drink. Any fruits and berries are suitable to prepare them. The proportions of starch for drinks of different thicknesses, based on 1 water: 1 tbsp. - fruit drink, 2-3 tbsp - jelly of medium density, 4-7 tbsp. - thick, which resembles jelly in consistency.
Potato Starch Drink Recipes:
- Kissel from potato starch … The most delicious drink is made from juices, but whole fruits can be used. If it is made from fresh fruits, then the compote is boiled first. Then the starch is diluted with cold water in a ratio of 1: 4, poured into a saucepan in a thin stream. Heat until bubbles appear, but do not boil, about 3 minutes. You can dilute starch not with water, but with compote. Then it is poured 5 minutes after the start of cooking and allowed to cool to room temperature. If the jelly is thick, then it is advisable to pour it into glasses when cooling and sprinkle the surface with granulated sugar or powder. Thus, it is possible to avoid the appearance of a film on the surface, due to which children refuse to even try a healthy and tasty drink. Some housewives, when they cook jelly from cherry juice, dilute the starch with milk.
- Morse … Most often, fruit drink is made from cranberries, lingonberries, red or black currants. First, the juice is squeezed out, set aside, and compote is prepared from the pomace. Sugar to taste. When the compote is cooked, it is filtered. A little liquid is poured, cooled, and the starch is diluted according to the above scheme. Calculation: 2 times less gelling substance than liquid jelly. Put the strained liquid on fire, bring to a boil, pour diluted starch along the side of the pan, bring to bubbles and remove from heat. As soon as it cools down a little, pour in the juice and mix thoroughly. If it is poured into a hot drink, the beneficial properties will not be preserved.
Kissel is considered to be food; it is served thick in bowls, sometimes with milk or cream. Morse is a drink, it quenches thirst well. Cranberry and currant fruit drinks have healing properties - antipyretic and anti-inflammatory.
Interesting facts about potato starch
For the first time, starch was made from potatoes. Factories for its production in Europe began to open in the XIV century. Currently, the product is produced in Germany, Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Finland, Austria, Czech Republic, China and India.
To obtain a high-quality product, special varieties of potatoes with a high content of polysaccharides are planted. Interestingly, some of the gelling product is obtained in the manufacture of chips.
When preparing various culinary sauces, a modified product is often used, since the usual one causes delamination. If the potatoes were processed at home, then everything cooked should be eaten immediately.
With the help of starch, the body satisfies the need for sugar. Conversion to glucose is so complex that it requires a lot of energy. In addition, the reserve of nutrients is depleted. Scientists have found that in order to assimilate starch from 250 g of plant foods with a high content of this substance, the body needs to spend 25 mg of ascorbic acid, 0.6 mg of thiamine, 0.7 mg of riboflavin, 6.6 mg of niacin.
If starchy compounds are not absorbed, then they accumulate in the body, reduce the absorption of nutrients, forming a film on the mucous membrane of the digestive tract, increasing the likelihood of constipation due to the absorption of fluid from feces.
The share of starchy foods in the daily menu should be no more than 20%. In addition, they need to be combined with vegetables, fruits and berries, in which this substance is contained in small quantities or absent. These include: cucumbers, cauliflower, tomatoes, rhubarb, red and white cabbage, eggplant, dill, and parsley. Watch a video about potato starch:
