Wheat starch paste

Wheat Starch Paste without Troubles.

Granular starch jelling in cold water doesn't need cooking, and
creates a very strong bond. Its storage under refrigeration does not
change the uniformity of material (viscosity) and adhesive property

In my quest to better understand what I had observed over time about
paste made from wheat starch, I contacted the Department of Food
Science & Human Nutrition at Washington State University, Pullman.
Pullman is located in eastern Washington, in an area called the
Palouse, which is a center for growing wheat and lentils. I was
fortunate enough to be directed towards Zuzanna Czuchajowska Ph.D.,
Professor and Researcher in the special field of starches from
different botanical sources. When I contacted Zuzanna in 1997, she
had just developed a process modifying wheat starch to obtain
granular cold water jelling starch and had filed for a patent.

Zuzanna explained that native (generally available) starch granules
soaked in water at room temperature are not water soluble and don't
have the ability to produce/form viscous material with adhesive
property at room temperature. One must introduce heat. Therefore the
process developed by Zuzanna can be of great interest to the
conservation community.

I tested the cold water jelling starch from one batch over a period
of one month at one week intervals. All papers were pasted on Mohawk
Superfine and on their own kind:

    Kizukishi (100% kozo)
    Sekishu (kozo and sulphite pulp)
    Dyed Japanese paper solid color (90% kozo, 10% wood pulp,
        chemical dyes)
    Mohawk Superfine, textweight (sulphite pulp)

Strips 1 1/2" wide each were cut and pasted. The bond between the
papers proved to be very strong. This would confirm the adhesive
quality of the starch for conservation purposes. More experiments
are needed to provide data expressed in scientific terms.

Those interested in making this product generally available, please
contact:

    Zuzanna Czuchajowska
    Washington State University
    Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition
    IMPACT
    Pullman, Wa 99164-6376
    509-334-9732
    Fax: 509-335-4815
    czuza [at] mail__wsu__edu

Gudrun Aurand
Bookbinder/Conservator
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-5610

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:96
                   Distributed: Friday, May 29, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-11-96-010
                                  ***