home made starch

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My mother used to use a bottle of starch when ironing. Do you think this was the kitchen starch mixed with water? or does any one know how to make starch. I don"T want to use the aerosol kind from the store. thanks.

-- vickie (vduffys@cs.com), September 17, 2001

Answers

I don't have a recipe for homemade starch but you can buy the liquid and make it yourself and put it in a spray bottle. I use Linit Starch for crafts. If you can't find it in your store, check out linit.com.

-- Cindy in NY (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), September 17, 2001.

My mom used to buy powdered starch and mix it up in water. This was sold in the household aisle with the laundry supplies, and it WASN'T the Argo cornstarch product for cooking. She used to put a little blueing in for whites, too.

-- Claudia Glass (glasss2001@prodigy.net), September 17, 2001.

Speaking of bluing... Does anyone know where to buy it nowadays? I need it for a science experiment for my kids and can't find it at the grocery store, drug store or at K Mart. Any ideas? As for starch, I buy the liquid in a bottle and dilute it down in my spray bottle at home.

-- Kari (prettyhere@truevine.net), September 18, 2001.

You ought to be able to buy it powder form in a supermarket or old- fashioned grocery store, with instructions on the packet, as said above. It does have to be boiled to dissolve into the water, although not for long. In a pinch you could use cornflour or another refined starch, but it won't be as exact as the commercial product, and it won't keep as well.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), September 18, 2001.

Blueing is still available in liquid form. I have a bottle of it, but don't remember where I bought it. I use it rarely. I know I could only have gotten it in a regular store.

As for starch, I too do not like to buy the aerosol stuff, so what I have done, and I asked my 80 year old mother how to do this - take regular corn starch and mix it with a small amount of water. Put it over a stove and heat mildly until it turns transparent. Remove from stove, dilute with as much water as you care to and put in your own spray bottle. I have done this and it works remarkably well. Haven't had the bottle clog yet, but am anticipating that. My mother insists that the starch must be cooked. I think that probably makes it easier to dissolve.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), September 18, 2001.



Hi ya'll. You can order bluing from the Vermont General Store. They have a website and an 800# to call for a catalogue. They have the kind of starch you are talking about. I have to order Fels-naptha to make homemade laundry soap. Cant find it anywhere around here. They are very dependable folks to order from. Blessings Peggy

-- peggy (peggyan2@msn.com), September 18, 2001.

Thanks Peggy for the tip on where to find bluing. I knew someone out there would know.

-- Kari (prettyhere@truevine.net), September 18, 2001.

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