The Complex Carbohydrates

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The Complex Carbohydrates
Mainly
Some here
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Polysaccharides??

• Complex carbohydrates are known as
  polysaccharides!
• This is because they are made up of many sugar
  units (saccharides)
• Each molecule contains hundreds or thousands of
  atoms

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• Complex carbohydrates can be divided into 4
  categories
• Starches
• Cellulose
• Gums
• Pectins
• These polysaccharides are abundant in grains,
  seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables seaweed!

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1. Starches

• Starches are made up of glucose- they are
  basically, chains of sugar! because of this,
  starches are POLYMERS
• Any grain or seed is high in starch
• wheat, rye, soy, tapioca, arrowroot, rice, corn,
  potatoes, oats, etc.

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Starches have 2 basic structures

• Linear amylose
• Branched amylopectin
• In most foods starches occur as mixtures of
  amylose and amylopectin.

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Starch is natures reserve carbohydrate supply

• Plants produce starch in packets called granules
• of the common foods, rice has the smallest
  granules, potatoes the largest
• Because granules are mixtures of amylose
  amylopectin, each type of starch performs
  differently.

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2. Cellulose

• Cellulose is among the complex carbohydrates
  known as fiber in the diet
• Humans lack the digestive enzymes to break the
  bonds in cellulose molecules
• Some animals insects use cellulose as a food
  source

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• Cellulose forms the rigid structure of plants
• The strings of celery the membranes surrounding
  kernels of corn are made up largely of cellulose

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3. Gums

• Not generally available to the home cook
• Carbohydrate gums are polysaccharides that are
  soluble in water and extracted from plants
• Gums thicken stabilize mixtures trap color
  and flavor
• Some you may have heard of
• arabic, karaya, agar, carageenan, algin

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4. Pectins

• Somewhat available to the home cook
• Pectins are complex carbohydrates that are found
  in plant cells made of chemical derivatives of
  sugar called sugar acids
• Pectin occurs naturally in fruit- It produces a
  strong gel

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Functions of Complex Carbohydrates in Food
Preparation
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1. Provide Structure

• Flour- provides bulk structure in baked goods
• Ready-to-eat cereals retain shape due to high
  starch content
• Cellulose is supporting structure for fruits
  veggies
• Pectins gums responsible for texture of jams,
  ice cream products, gummy candy

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2. Bind

• Binding agents hold two other products together
• ex. batters sticking to veggies during deep
  frying
• This can be increased if batter-dipped foods set
  for 20 minutes before frying

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3. Thicken

• Starch molecules are chemically altered as they
  swell take up water when cooked
• This cannot happen without heat!
• ex. white sauce

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Starch in action

• As heat is added, starch molecules stretch
  allow water molecules to slip into coils of
  starch molecule
• Too much heat will cause starch to break apart,
  ruining thickening ability
• Large amounts of sugar or salt can interfere with
  gelatinization

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Gelatinization

• Gelatinization occurs when starch molecules are
  heated to the maximum swelling point then
  cooled
• ex. Pudding- when starch granules are suspended
  in water then heated, gelatinization occurs
• The product will not gel or set until it is
  cooled!
• Instant pudding starch has been
• pre gelatinized to allow it to set
• at the temperature of cold milk