Starch Syrup

Starch Syrup 

a sweet, viscous liquid obtained by saccharifying (hydrolizing) starch—chiefly potato starch and cornstarch —by means of dilute acids or enzymes and subsequent filtration and evaporation.

Starch syrup is an aqueous solution of glucose, oligosaccharides, and dextrins, with a solid content of approximately 80 percent. Pure starch syrup is virtually clear and colorless. Since starch syrup increases the solubility of sucrose and retards its crystallization, it is widely used in the confectionery industry, for example in the manufacture of caramel. The canning industry uses it in preparing preserves and jam to increase their own syrup’s viscosity and to improve flavor. Starch syrup is an ingredient of some types of bread, including Orlovsky pan cottage bread. In the textile industry, it is a constituent of various finishes.

The syrup known as beet molasses (melassa) is a by-product of the sugar-beet industry containing approximately 50 percent sucrose as well as certain impurities that make it unsuitable for use in food preparation.