What is starch?

Starch is like a special kind of energy storage that plants use to save up for later.

Imagine you're playing outside all day and eat a big snack, you feel full and ready for more fun. Plants do something similar when they’re making food from sunlight during the day. They store extra energy in little packages called starch, which is like the plant’s snack stash.

Starch is made up of tiny building blocks called glucose, think of them like sugar cubes. When plants need more energy, they can break apart the starch into these glucose pieces and use them to keep growing or make food at night.

When you eat foods like potatoes, bread, or pasta, you're eating starch! Your body breaks it down just like a plant does, turning it into energy so you can run, jump, and play all day long.