What is the development and utilization of waxy corn starch?

Waxy corn is also known as glutinous corn, China’s folk commonly known as sticky corn. Waxy corn has an opaque appearance and a dense, homogeneous texture, like paraffin wax. When you cut the kernel with a knife, the surface of the cut has a wax-like luster, although it does not contain wax components, but it is named waxy corn.
Compared with other starches, the starch produced by waxy corn has the following characteristics
1. The shape and size of granules of waxy maize granules are mostly polygonal, in addition, there are also round, its surface is relatively rough, no cracks; ordinary corn starch granules have smooth surface, mostly polygonal; potato starch granules are mostly ovate, with smooth surface and intact granules; sweet potato starch granules are mostly round, in addition, there are also polygonal, with smooth surface and no cracks. Their particle sizes are shown in Table 1:

2. Transparency of the coagulability of starch paste transparency is one of the important quality factors in food processing, and the degree of aging also has a great correlation. Generally easy to age the transparency is poor.
For example, ordinary corn starch is translucent white paste, potato starch paste and waxy corn starch is very transparent. Currently, the transmittance is often used to reflect the transparency of starch paste, thus showing the strength of its ability to combine with water. Generally speaking, the light transmittance of waxy corn starch is better than that of potato starch and ordinary corn starch.
When starch is heated, its granules absorb water and swell, rupture and pasteurization occurs. During the cooling process, starch molecules undergo rearrangement, and molecular chains are combined with hydrogen bonding, so that the starch molecules are dehydrated and contracted, and their adhesive property decreases, and their water retention is weakened. The smaller the sedimentation volume is, the easier the starch is to coagulate and sink.
Generally speaking, the coagulability of common starch is very strong, while the coagulability of waxy corn starch and potato starch is very low. This is because straight-chained starch has a chain structure, with small spatial obstacles in solution, easy to be oriented, so it is easy to regenerate, especially medium-length straight-chained starch is easy to regenerate, while the chain of straight-chained starch in potato starch is longer, which makes it difficult to be oriented, and slow to regenerate. Waxy corn starch is basically straight-chain starch, branched-chain starch is tree-like structure, in the solution of space obstacles, not easy to orientation, so it is not easy to coagulation.
3. Swelling power and solubility starch dispersed with water, once heated will absorb water and swell to form a paste, this pasting phenomenon varies due to the different types of starch. Generally speaking, potato starch pasting temperature is the lowest, but the rate of water-absorbing expansion is the largest; and ordinary corn starch is just the opposite.
Potato starch at a low temperature of 60-60 ℃ water-absorbing swelling power of up to 70% or more, while the wax corn starch in the 68-85 ℃ between the swelling power of the rapid increase. Ordinary corn starch needs to be 90 ℃ above the high temperature to have 25% of the swelling power.
4. Paste viscosity properties of the same concentration, the viscosity of waxy corn starch paste is lower than potato, but higher than ordinary corn starch.
Waxy corn starch milk in the PH close to neutral, the paste viscosity is higher and more stable, in higher PH or lower PH small, the paste viscosity stability is poor. It indicates that the waxy corn starch paste has poor resistance to acid and alkali.
Sugar is often added in the food manufacturing process, and the starch used in it will be affected by the sugar in it. As sucrose molecules have a number of hydroxyl groups are extremely soluble in water, sugar dissolved in starch milk, relatively reducing the starch paste expansion paste water, so that the starch as if in a relatively small amount of water paste, granule expansion difficulties, difficult to paste, so the paste temperature increases, the viscosity also increases at any time. With the increase of sucrose dosage, the inhibition of starch granule swelling and pasting is enhanced, and the viscosity decreases after reaching a certain limit.
The presence of sodium chloride increased the pasting temperature of waxy corn starch. Salt, like sucrose, reduces the water activity, affects the interaction between starch molecules and water molecules, and hinders the pasting performance of starch; the larger the amount of salt, the more difficult it is to paste the starch, and the starch paste coagulates more quickly.
Practical application of waxy corn starch
Rice crackers: Rice crackers made from glutinous rice are extremely popular in Japan. Waxy corn starch has the same swelling power as that of glutinous rice and can be used to replace part of the glutinous rice.
Fillings and sauces: Generally speaking, starch is easy to age and harden after pasting, which destroys the original quality and taste. Waxy corn starch is not easy to be aged, has good water retention and stable viscosity, so it can be used with other starches to enhance viscosity, improve surface organization and prevent aging.
For example, when wheat starch is added with 10-15% of waxy corn starch, the batter is not easy to produce a layer of hard skin film, and has water retention properties to prevent water precipitation. Waxy corn starch can be used in bread, pudding, sauces and so on. Especially cross-linked waxy corn starch is more suitable for can contents as filler, which can increase viscosity and maintain high viscosity when encountered with acidity or strong mixing.