Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding Lab

1. Chocolate Cornstarch PuddingLab Aim: To study the effects of cornstarch in the preparation of a simple pudding

2. A starch thickened desert A starch is a polysaccharide made up of 2 fractions: amylose and amylopectin Amylose – linear molecule and gives gelling characteristics to cooked and cooled starch mixtures Gel: rigid, holds shape of container when unmolded Pudding

3. - High amylose starches form films: property used to bind other ingredients Amylopection – highly branched and bushy; no gelling properties All starches are mixture of amylose and amylopectin Plants store starches in their seeds, roots and tubers Pudding

4. Starch stored in plant cells and organized in units called granules: Microscopic, come in different sizes and shapes depending on the type of starch Potato: 10 - 100 um Corn: 5 - 25 um StarchGranules

5. Factors That Affect Starch • Moist Heat → Gelatinization • Temperature and Time of Heating • Agitation and Stirring • pH • Addition of Other Ingredients

6. As you heat the starch its granules absorb water and swell → viscosity and thickness increase After a period of time the granules gelatinize Get rigid and take shape, resulting in a starch paste Gelatinization

7. Temperatureand Time of Heating • Starch paste prepared most quickly at boiling temp for 1 minute • Granules swell more quickly at high temperature

8. Agitation and Stirring • Stir with uniform consistency for a smooth product • If agitation is too intense → rupture of granules and decreased viscosity

9. Other Ingredients • Sugar • raises temperature at which a starch gelatinizes → delays swelling of starch granules decreasing thickness of paste • It competes with the starch for water

10. pH • High acidity causes fragmentation of granules • Decreases the thickening power

11. Other Ingredients • Protein and Fat: • coat the starch which delays swelling and lowers rate of viscosity development