How Can I make Starch?

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Starch is used for ironing your clothes. It is naturally found in seeds, roots and stems. Starch contains carbohydrates which is one of the important  categories in the food pyramid  for human diet. But it has other uses as well and one  of them is as a laundry starch. It has the property of firming up on drying and so used for making crisp and smooth fabrics. It makes the fabric look more stiff and vibrant. It also acts as protective barrier because the dirt and sweat stick to the starch rather than clothes. It is easy to maintain and doesn't affect the fabric as it washes away  with water. 

How to make your own  starch?

Starch can be prepared with  a lot of the carbohydrates that you have in the house. But the most popular and easy one is with rice  or corn flour. Rice starch is made by adding rice to   boiling water  and by  the time the rice is cooked completely, most of the starch from the rice gets into the water. This water can be used to starch clothes. This process is popular in India as people eat a lot of rice  in these parts. Other method which I have mentioned below is with cornstarch powder. For making your own starch you require corn starch powder, burner, water and plastic bottle. Preparing your own starch does not take a lot of time and very easy to prepare and quite inexpensive.

• Add 3 3/4 cups of water into a vessel and boil the water. 
• Make a paste of the starch powder before adding to water. Add one tablespoon of  prepared starch powder paste  to the boiling water.  Stir well until the paste is completely dissolved in the water.
• Stir continuously until the liquid is well blended. Simmer on low heat  until it comes together and looks slightly thick. 
• At this stage, turn off the burner and allow the starch liquid to cool. Pour the starch liquid in to a plastic bottle.
• And now it is ready to use for ironing your clothes. Always shake the bottle before use.

What are the uses of Starch?

• Is used to spray before ironing cotton clothes.
• Starch is used for taking wrinkles away from the clothes and gives them a crispy look.
• Starch is used as a food preservative.
• Starch is used in the preparation of gummed sweets and jellies. Starch is used as a substitute for molds.
• Starch is used as binder in medicines to have the shape of capsule and candies.
• It can be used as substitute for talcum powder, beauty and health products.