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Potato VS Tapioca Starch

Potato VS Tapioca Starch

What is Potato Starch?

Potato starch also known as potato flour, is acquired from the root of potatoes. The roots are rumpled, and in that process the starches are released. A fine white soft powder is obtained as a result of separating and drying out the starch. It acts a thickener, binding agent and gluing in food preparation. Cooks get good benefits of using this starch by having glossy and silky sauces making it a useful item for them. Potato starch can be used for a horde of foods such as gravy’s, soups, sauces, cakes, bakery cream, sausages, pastries, noodles and custard. This is a perfect ingredient for professionals in the dry blending, meat, and baking industries.

Sounds all great! Isn’t it? However, there are some side effects that an individual should be aware of while consuming it or making it as a part of their daily diet. When you start including potato starch recipes into your diet you may see some temporary changes to your digestion, such as gas, bloating and fullness. Potato allergies are rare, but you should avoid potato starch if you have a potato intolerance or potato food allergy. Some of the notable side effects of potato starch include being low in nutrients, because it doesn’t contain optimal amounts of minerals and vitamins. If we talk about nutrition the only thing it contains is carbohydrates.

There are two main components in potato starch; amylose which is approximately 20 percent which is desirable because of gelling when added to food ingredients and 80 percent of the amylopectin. Potato starch can come from genetically modified potatoes. A precise example of this is Amflora, which is a genetically modified potato that is specifically designed to produce only the amylopectin component of the starch and such bio-engineering is not comparable to something all natural, which would be good for the body to function well.

Tapioca Starch: Your best bet

Tapioca starch is extracted from the cassava root, just like potato starch. It is also called the manioc root and once the roots are fully grown, they are harvested, collected, dried, pounded and processed to extract the starch. A fine light yellow powder is obtained after the extraction is completed.

The good news for people here is that it is an excellent gluten-free substitute to using mainstream grain flours and this has made it a must-have ingredients of cooks and to be used in pharmaceutical applications. Besides being gluten-free, it is the purest form of starch available and is free from sugar and low in calories. Tapioca starch is the best potato starch counterpart, is also used as a binding agent and sometimes used as a thickening agent too, and adds great moisture to the products. Works well when combined with gluten free flours, perfect for adding crispiness to pizzas and pie crusts. Even use tapioca starch for making pancakes, flatbreads, gluten free breads, cookies, custard and puddings.

Conclusion

By now you would have an idea about both the starches. Although potato starch is being used in many applications but its side effects couldn’t be ignored plus potato starch is a bit heavier than the tapioca starch. Tapioca has a high starch little fiber content. However because it’s very low in sugar and calories, it contains a variety of other nutrients, that could be used as a carbohydrate-rich side dish in a well-balanced diet. Just a point to note here is when using tapioca starch as a substitute to potato starch for thickening, note that its ability to thicken is slightly less than that of potato starch so you would want to use twice the amount that your recipe requires for potato starch.

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