STARCH AND STARCHING To Make Starch.—Starch is a sub stance contained in various vegetables, as grains, potatoes, etc.
Starch is made from grain by steep ing it in cold water until it becomes soft. It is then placed in sacks and pressed in a vat with water. The milky juice which is produced by this process is allowed to stand until it becomes clear, when the starch sinks to the bottom in the form of a white powder.
Starch may be made from potatoes by grating them in water and strain ing and squeezing the mass through thin cloth, as cheese cloth, or a suit able sieve. The liquid is then allowed to stand until the potato starch set tles at the bottom. The clear liquid from which the starch has settled has considerable cleansing properties and is especially useful to clean colored silks, woolens, and other delicate ar ticles without injury to their color or texture. The coarse fiber of the potato removed by straining may be used in washing heavy colored wool en articles, as blankets, horse blankets, carriage robes, and the like. These articles should be soaked in water containing salt to set the colors, and afterwards scrubbed with the grated potato fibers and scrubbing brush and water.
Starch may be made from potatoes which are too small 'for domestic use, and a fairly good quality may also be made from frosted potatoes, al though this last may have a slightly darker color. The starch from frosted potatoes may be improved by adding fresh water \ after the first clear liquid has been turned off, stirring, and al lowing it to settle once more, and so continuing until the liquid is entirely clear.
To Prepare Starch.—The amount of starch to prepare for a given wash ing depends upon the articles to be starched, and must be determined in each family by experiment. The abil ity to do up starched linen perfectly is one of the most severe tests of the successful laundress. Hence the im portance of knowing how to prepare good starch. First mix the required amount of common starch with a small quantity of cold water to the con sistency of cream. Carefully rub and
beat the starch with a spoon to break up all lumps and insure that the particles of starch are evenly wet through. Thin to the consistency of milk with a little more cold water. For thick cooked starch add 8 parts of boiling water to 1 of starch. For thin cooked starch add 16 parts of water to 1 of starch. Pour the water while boiling vigorously in a thin stream, and stir constantly to pre vent the starch from lumping. Set the starch over the fire and continue to boil it from 3 to 5 minutes, stirring vigorously all the time. If such sub stances as wax, borax, oil, etc., are used, they should be mixed with the starch while cooking. Bluing should not be added until the starch is cold. Raw starch or that which has been insufficiently cooked will stick to the iron and make much trouble for the laundress. Cooked starch may be thinned by the addition of cold water.
Cornstarch. — Common cornstarch, such as is used for making puddings, is preferred by some laundresses in stead of the ordinary laundry starch. It is about as cheap and in the opinion of many gives a finer gloss and more finished appearance to deli cate starched articles. Try this some time when the laundry starch is out and see how you like it. A mix ture of the two kinds is also much favored.
Starch with Wax.—For white cuffs, collars, and shirt bosoms melt with gentle heat white wax or a mixture of equal parts of white wax and sper maceti or a mixture of 1 part of white wax to 2 parts of spermaceti, as pre ferred, and stir into ordinary starch while boiling. Use a lump of wax about the size of a walnut to a quart of cooked starch, or estimate the amount of wax in the proportion of to of the bulk of dry starch re quired for the garments.
Starch with Borax.—Add 1 table spoonful of borax to each pint of cooked starch while boiling. This makes the starch go farther by lessen ing the amount that adheres to each garment. It increases the gloss with out giving additional stiffness and tends to prevent the irons from stick ing.