amylopectin
nounUK /ˌæmɪləʊˈpɛktɪn/
US /ˌæmɪloʊˈpɛktɪn/
Amylopectin is a type of starch that plants store as food and that our bodies break down for energy.
Potatoes and rice contain a lot of amylopectin, which helps give them their soft texture when cooked.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A highly branched polymer of glucose found in the starch granules of plants.
Scientists studied the branching pattern of amylopectin to understand how starch granules form.
3. The major component of most starches, making up roughly seventy to eighty percent of starch by weight.
Waxy corn starch is almost entirely amylopectin, which is why it thickens sauces so well.
4. A polysaccharide that gives cooked starchy foods their gummy or sticky quality.
The amylopectin in glutinous rice makes it sticky enough to hold together in dumplings.