On Sun, 30 Jun 2002 20:43:37 -0500, Theola Walden Baker <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>All vegetables and fruits contain carbs.  Then is it simply the *amount* of
>carbs in a given food or is it a specific *kind* of carb (e.g., as per Am
>Her C6H10O5) that causes some foods to be labeled as *starches* and others
>not?  Gee, I hope that's clear........because I'm anything but clear on the
>answer.

You copied out the first definition, but I find that the most valuable part of
the dictionary definition is the origin of the word:

[Middle English starche, substance used to stiffen cloth (sense uncertain),
from sterchen, to stiffen, from Old English *stercan.]

So, "starch" is a substance used to stiffen shirt collars.

It is found in certain plants.

Thus, when people use the word "starches" or "starchy" to refer to FOODS, they
mean foods that tend to contain the substance used to stiffen shirt collars.

In reality, it's not a very useful term in talking about nutrition...


--
Cheers,

Ken
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