ABSTRACT
Taro contains 70 to 80 percent starch on a dry weight basis. Taro starch granules are usually small, with an average diameter of 2 to 5 microns. A simple method was developed to separate 40 percent of the taro starch. Taro corms of different varieties used in the preparation of starch were ground in a meat grinder and further reduced in size by wet milling using a Fitz Mill equipped with a 0.069 cm perforated screen. The thin slurry was filtered under pressure through nylon filter bags. The filtrate was centrifuged to separate the starch which was subsequently dried at 45 C. The taro starch granules were similar to other tuber starches in forming clear, stringy pastes somewhat resistant to enzyme action which indicated that taro starch can be utilized for both human consumption and industrial use.
The residue in the nylon bags after drying was ground to flour which contained 60 to 70 percent starch. Products made into noodles, flakes, cookies, muffins and biscuits were tested by mixing taro flour with wheat flour. Results indicated that taro flour can be substituted for part of the wheat flour required in the pastry preparation.
