Did you know?

• starch paste was used by the ancient Egyptians to cement strips of papyrus stems together for use as writing paper as early as 4000 B.C.
• chinese paper documents of about 312 AD were coated with a starch sizing to provide resistance to ink penetration. starches from rice, wheat, and barely were commonly used at that time
• iodine is used to test for the presence of starch
• starch was used in northern Europe to stiffen linen, as early as the 14th century
• colored and uncolored starches were used as cosmetics. Blue starch was used by the Puritans until its use was banned by Queen Elizabeth in 1596
• a procedure for starch production was given in a Roman treatise by Cato in the year 184 B.C.
• Pliny the Elder (23-74 A.D.) states that the Romans used wheat starch to make papyrus documents, as well as to stiffen and whiten cloth and powder the hair
• starch is the storage form in plants, whilst glycogen is the storage form in animals in which it contains more branches than that of starch