How to distinguish the authenticity of vermicelli_How to distinguish the authenticity of sweet potato vermicelli

People who often eat vermicelli know that real vermicelli is made of sweet potato flour. Vermicelli made from sweet potato flour will not break, even if it is cooked for a long time, it will not break when pinched. However, dry vermicelli is particularly easy to break. Many small vendors on the market claim that their vermicelli is made from real sweet potato flour and will not break, but this is not true. This article introduces several methods to identify the authenticity of sweet potato vermicelli. Let’s learn them.

How to distinguish the authenticity of sweet potato vermicelli

1. Crisp: Because the only raw material is sweet potato starch, it is very crisp after drying and can be broken by lightly grabbing with your hand. It is not easy to get damp after drying. The so-called pure sweet potato vermicelli sold in the market will not break even if exposed to the sun for 10 days. When purchasing sweet potato vermicelli, please be careful. If it breaks when you grab it, it is definitely not made of sweet potato.

2. Color: The color of pure sweet potato vermicelli will vary because the quality of the sweet potato starch used is different, and some will be darker. Those that have been well processed with starch will be whiter, but the color of sweet potato vermicelli is generally darker. Sweet potatoes are translucent, especially after being cooked, they are brighter and chewy. Many experiences have told me that vermicelli made from pure sweet potatoes is relatively yellowish and bluish. Vermicelli of this color is real. There is also another kind that is very white and transparent, which is also sweet potato vermicelli.

3. Pure sweet potato vermicelli is very resistant to cooking, and there is a big difference between it and fake vermicelli: the more pure sweet potato vermicelli is soaked, the more it becomes. What this means is that when you first soak it, there will be half a bowl, but if you soak it for a few hours, it will become more. This is vermicelli made from sweet potatoes, and you can use this method to distinguish it.

4. Taste: Pure sweet potato vermicelli has a sweet taste of sweet potato when chewed dry. Of course, the fake ones don’t have this taste, and if there is any, it is the smell of rotten plastic. After cooking, the taste is smooth and chewy. This is what we call chewy vermicelli, which is made of sweet potato.

The difference between real and fake sweet potato vermicelli

1. From the appearance, the color of a batch of pure sweet potato vermicelli will definitely be inconsistent. Some are slightly darker, some are slightly browner, and some are slightly yellower and whiter. This is related to the phenols, proteins, amino acids, sugars, vitamins A, B, C, E, and potato residues contained in the sweet potato vermicelli; it is also related to the ripeness of the vermicelli. The more ripe the vermicelli, the darker it is, and the rawer the vermicelli, the whiter it is; it is related to the variety of sweet potatoes; it is related to the length of processing time, the process flow, and so on. As for fake sweet potato vermicelli made with other starches (usually corn starch and tapioca starch), the ingredients in the starch are different, so when they come out, they can only achieve the purpose of uniform color by adding dyes. Therefore, the colors of fake sweet potato vermicelli are generally similar and there is not much difference.

2. Pure sweet potato vermicelli becomes drier and crisper, has very low moisture content, and contains more broken powder. Fake sweet potato vermicelli has better toughness and less broken powder.

3. Pure sweet potato vermicelli is resistant to cooking and not easy to break. It usually needs to be soaked in boiling water. After soaking, it is smooth and elastic. Fake sweet potato vermicelli can be soaked in cold water, and it is hard and inelastic.

4. Since the gelatinization temperature of sweet potato starch is 76 degrees, it has high thermal viscosity, is difficult to process, difficult to make neat, and has high processing costs, the price of pure sweet potato vermicelli is high; while the gelatinization temperature of other starch powders is lower than 70 degrees, the thermal viscosity is lower, the processing difficulty is small, easy to make neat, and the processing cost is low. In addition, the cost of other starches is low, so the price of fake sweet potato vermicelli is low.

5. Sweet potato starch has the strongest water absorption capacity and expands the most when absorbed by water. Therefore, if the cooked pure sweet potato vermicelli is left for a while, it will easily absorb the remaining water in the bowl; while other starches have weak water absorption and will expand less when absorbing water.