If you love cooking, then you must have used potato starch many a time in your recipes. But have you ever tried to figure out how nutritious is potato starch? Well, just go through this article to get your facts right on potato starch nutrition.
Potato is a root tuber that contains leucoplasts inside its cells. These leucoplasts are nothing but grains of starch. When the potatoes are mashed, the grains of starch are released and are extracted to obtain potato starch. Potato starch is available in the form of a white powder that has moderately large grains that are spherical in shape. Sometimes, it can be found in liquid form as well. Potato starch is rich in carbohydrates and contains very little amounts of fat or proteins. Phosphorous is one of the major mineral constituents of potato starch.
For the manufacture of potato starch, potatoes with high starch content are selected. Potato starch is used as a thickening agent and is added to food products for increasing the viscosity. It is a good substitute for other thickeners such as wheat flour as it is gluten free. Potato starch is also used in the manufacturing of potato bread. Not only this, it is also used in the manufacturing of certain environment friendly products.
Potato Starch Nutrition Facts
Potato starch is widely used in the preparation of noodles, potato fries, soups, hot dog, sauces, bakery products, etc. Not only this, the uses of potato starch extend beyond the kitchen as well! It is used in manufacturing adhesives used in textile and paper industries. An interesting erstwhile use of potato starch was in the photography development process pioneered by the Lumiere brothers. So, now that we are aware of the many uses of potato starch, let us try to understand how beneficial this really is and for that we need to know about the nutritional value of potato starch.
If we try to analyze the nutritional value of potato starch, then we find that 1 tablespoon of the starch contains approximately 40 calories. As mentioned earlier, potato starch is pure carbohydrate and contains negligible amounts of dietary fibers, fats and proteins. To know more about the nutritional value of potato starch, refer to the table given below.
Note that the values given in the table are with respect to 100 g of potato starch.
Nutrient | Quantity in grams |
Carbohydrates | 88.1 |
Fats | 0.3 |
Proteins | 0.2 |
Dietary Fiber | 0.8 |
Moisture | 11.2 |
Mineral | Quantity in milligrams |
Sodium | 4 |
Potassium | 33 |
Calcium | 30 |
Phosphorous | 64 |
Magnesium | 6 |
Iron | 1.3 |
Nickel | 4 |
Copper | 0.13 |
Zinc | 0.16 |
In addition to this, it helps to know that every 100g of potato starch gives you 1505 kJ of energy which means that it is high in energy content. However, potato starch is free from cholesterol which makes it a healthy choice for breads and baked products. Some people tend to get confused between potato starch and potato flour and think that both are the same which is not true. This is because potato starch is obtained from the starch cells present inside the potato tuber while potato flour is obtained by drying the whole potato and then grinding it. The distinct smell of potato that is present in potato flour distinguishes it from potato starch. Also, potato flour is heavier than potato starch. Starch and flour made from potato is preferred by people who are allergic to gluten, a protein found in wheat and wheat flour.
Potato starch has proven to be a good raw material for manufacturing eco-friendly products as well. Along with materials such as cornstarch and paper, potato starch is being used to manufacture "bioplastics", a plastic like substance which used to make bags, cutlery and a host of other useful products. So, you see that even if potato starch is not rich in nutrients, this versatile commodity is a favorite for its many and varied uses.