Tag: Cooking properties

According to research published in the journal *Foods*, glutinous rice starch is composed almost exclusively of amylopectin, ranging from 98–100% by dry weight. This makes glutinous, or waxy, rice the variety with the highest percentage of amylopectin. This high concentration is responsible for its famously sticky, chewy texture when cooked.

Starch is the most common carbohydrate in human diets, found in staple foods like wheat, potatoes, and rice. To fully understand its functional properties in cooking and digestion, it is important to know what are the two main types of starch: amylose and amylopectin. The ratio and structure of these two molecules determine everything from a food's texture to its glycemic index.

Approximately 75% of a potato tuber's dry weight is starch. This starch is not a single compound but rather a mixture of two distinct polysaccharides: amylose and amylopectin. Understanding these two types of starch molecules is key to predicting how a potato will behave during cooking and for various industrial applications.

According to agricultural and food science research, cassava is widely regarded as a powerhouse of carbohydrates and has a higher starch content by dry weight compared to yam. This primary difference in composition significantly influences their culinary applications, nutritional profiles, and texture when cooked.