It looks like flour but it's not. Potato starch is part of the starch family and comes in the form of a very fine white powder. Odourless, gluten-free and very precious in the kitchen, potato starch is used in sweet leavened preparations, such as muffins, sponge cakes, cakes and donuts, but also to thicken sauces and gravies.
As the name suggests, potato starch is obtained from the versatile tuber from which the starch is extracted, dried and crushed until it forms a very fine white powder. Made up mostly of carbohydrates and a small percentage of proteins, potato starch is characterized by a high ability to absorb liquids, thus making it an excellent thickener. However, in the kitchen it is used above all for its ability to give a soft and fluffy consistency to leavened preparations.
Before being brought to Europe at the end of the 15th century, the potato was known, cultivated and widespread in South America, and the tradition of using starch in food preparations also comes from there. Thanks to its properties and neutral flavor which makes it a champion of versatility, starch today has a place of honor among the most used starches in Europe. In particular, potato starch contains amylopectin, a sugar that helps regulate intestinal activity and is also a useful food for facilitating energy recovery after intense competitive activity thanks to the simple sugars of which it is composed. It also offers benefits in skin care, regulating sebum production and performing a soothing action.
As mentioned before, potato starch is mainly used in cooking where it can replace other ingredients. For example, thanks to its thickening capacity it can be used in place of eggs, using a dosage of approximately two tablespoons of starch for each egg, or it can be used in place of wheat flour to accelerate the leavening of sweet and savory dough. Thanks to its characteristics and the neutrality of its flavour, potato starch is therefore a very versatile ingredient in the kitchen, which is well suited to being used in different preparations, from sauces to savory pies through to puddings and custards.
However, potato starch is not only suitable for culinary use, but is also an excellent ally for beauty and personal care. In fact, with the addition of water and almond oil it can be used to prepare a nourishing mask for chapped face and hands, or it can be mixed with powder to make it mattifying and eliminate the annoying shiny effect on the T-zone of the face.
In short, potato starch - in the Ar.pa Lieviti catalog for many years - represents an almost 360° resource not only for giving the right consistency to preparations but also for taking care of your body.