Starch and sugars are important substances in the food we eat. They are called carbohydrates and our bodies use them to produce energy.
We can test for starch by adding iodine solution to a sample of food. If the iodine solution changes from brown to a blue/black colour then the food sample has starch in it.
We can use Benedict’s test to find out if a food contains sugars. When the food sample is heated in blue Benedict’s solution and an orange/red solid is formed then we know the food sample must have a sugar in it. However, if an orange/red solid is not formed we cannot say for sure that the food sample does not contain a sugar. Some sugars such as sucrose do not form an orange/red solid when they are heated in Benedict’s solution.
The aim of this experiment is to test for starch and sugars in some food samples.
Testing for Starch and Sugars in Food – Pupil
