Modified starch is an additive prepared by treating starch or starch granules, causing the starch to be partially degraded. Modified starch is used as a thickening agent, stabilizer, or an emulsifier. Apart from food products, modified starch also find use in paper manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Textiles and various other industrial applications. Starches are modified to increase their stability against excessive heart, acid, and freezing to change their texture or to lengthen or shorten gelatinization time.
It has low and uniform viscosity, which does not change much with temperature unlike native starches, which show wide variation in viscosity. The keeping qualities of the native starch also show a marked variation, i.e. considerable degradation occurs on boiling.
Thin Boiling Starch's non-congealing characteristic, shorter boiling time, transparency of paste and lower viscosity ensure easy working, compared to thick boiling starches. Unlike gum and glues which require soaking, Thin Boiling Starch is readily dispersed in water and can be boiled into a smooth paste without any pretreatment.