There is a wide variety of products made from cassavaone of them being the tapioca. Both the sweet powderas the sour e cassava starch. However, what is each of them, anyway? To resolve any doubts, check out our explanation of the starch from cassava.
I’ll start with a correction, because according to ANVISA (National Health Surveillance Agency) starch is a product and starch is another, even if chemically speaking, they are practically almost the same thing.
Difference between Starch and Starch
According to Resolution of the National Food Norms and Standards Commission (CNNPA) No. 12 of 1978, we have:
- Starch: is the product amiláceo extracted from edible aerial parts of vegetables, such as: seeds and fruits. (Translation: when it is extracted from parts above the ground)
- Starch: is the product amiláceo extracted from edible underground parts of vegetables, such as: tubers, roots and rhizomes. (Translation: when it is extracted from parts buried in the earth)
Technically, from a chemical point of view, it is all starch. O complex carbohydrate (polysaccharide) which is a mixture of amilopectina e Amylose which are made up of several molecules of glucose linked to each other.
What is Polvilho?
Tapioca starch or cassava starch: product amiláceo extracted from cassava (Manihot very useful). O tapioca according to the acidity content, it will be classified into sweet powder or sour tapioca. According to the legislation, which is somewhat confusing, the information appears in the item “4. General Characteristics“.
In the article “Cassava starch products is the theme of Prosa Rural” by Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Company) we have the following:
- The legislation says: goma or starch cassava has several uses (…)
However, technically, the correct thing would be starch and not starch.
What is the difference between Cassava Starch and Sweet Polvilho?
Sweet powder e starch they are technically the same product. Commercially, it is common to call sweet powder for the product obtained by solar dryingprocessed in less automated, smaller-scale units. Starch It’s a technical term. Casserole Sweet is a commercial term.
What is Sour Polvilho?
O sour tapioca is a product obtained from same way as candybut is fermented after the starch decantation stage and before drying made by the solar method. O sour tapioca it is a starch modified because of fermentation.
A fermentation will produce aciditytherefore, what adds the part sorrel of product. To be considered ready, the acidity needs to reach 5%.
Tapioca and Kisses are the same thing
A few years ago it was difficult to find the tapioca gum ready outside the Northeast and North. Since 2014 this has changed and has become much easier, practically in any market it is available. The gum is cassava starch (sweet cassava starch) moistened.
- For producers, the starch It presents itself as a good alternative to add value to your activities. The most common is the manufacture of beijusalso called tapioca (…)
Remembering: Brazil is a country is huge and regionalisms happen. In other words, depending on the region, they will call the same thing by different names and everything is fine.
What is Arrowroot?
A araruta is another plant (Maranta reed) which is also possible to do starchsince the called party rhizome (it looks like a root, but it isn’t) accumulates starch (the polysaccharide) that can be extracted.
As you read before, the product would be called arrowroot starch or arrowroot starch.
However, the availability of arrowroot starch is more limited. In the past it was easier to find arrowrootbut little by little there was a shift towards the use of cassava starch, as the yield is much higher. Some companies called the product they sold arrowroot, but it was actually made with cassava.
Too Long, Didn’t Read
- Starch is a type of polysaccharide (carbohydrate) which is called a complex carbohydrate made with several glucose molecules linked together. In this case, it is the product amiláceo extracted from aerial parts edible vegetables, such as: seeds e fruits. That is, when the starch comes from parts of the plant that are above on the earth. For example: corn starch, rice starch, wheat starch.
- Starch is the product amiláceo extracted from underground parts edible vegetables, such as: tubers, roots e rhizomes. That is, when the starch comes from parts of the plant that are buried in the land. For example: potato starch and cassava starch.
- Sweet powder is the commercial name used to call the cassava starch.
- Sour cassava cassava is a type of cassava starch what it was fermented between 15-40 days to become acidic/sour and during the process the acidity must reach 5%.
- Araruta It’s another plant, Maranta reedwhich has a rhizome (modified stem) which also accumulates starch. But as it is underground, the extracted product is called de arrowroot starch.
