Starch is a polysaccharide consisting of the two subunits amylose and amylopectin. In nature, it is stored in plants as a reserve substance in the form of starch granules. It is found mainly in the endosperm of cereals, in seeds and legumes, and in the tubers of various plants. The usual process for the production of starch is wet milling, which
is based on the separation of the main components (starch and protein fractions) by various operations. The main raw materials used in the industry are corn, wheat and potatoes, but other cereals (rice, barley, oats, sorghum and others) can also be processed using similar methods. Native starch is an important raw material for the production of various food products, but its use is limited due to certain physicochemical properties (e.g., low solubility in cold water, instability in acidic environments, retrogradation, etc.). As a result, modified starches, obtained by treating starch with various physical, chemical and enzymatic processes and combinations thereof, are increasingly used. Thus, modified starches have significantly improved technological properties, which allows their use in various food products to modify the rheological properties of foods, improve temperature stability, increase hydration, stabilize emulsion, use them as fillers or fat substitutes, and more.
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