An unsubstituted crosslinked
starch has a hot paste
viscosity at pH 3 and 5.5 wt% solids in the range of 100 cP to 1500 cP, a
retrogradation enthalpy at 1 week or less and 7 J / g or less at 4 weeks, and a
retrogradation end temperature of less than 75 DEG C. The
starch may be prepared from waxy cassava, waxy rice, waxy sacchar-2 corn
mutant, short-chain waxy potato, waxy wheat, highly phosphorylated
waxy starch, or a combination of any two or more thereof. The
starch may be cross-linked. The starch may be used in
food products,
nutritional products, pharmaceutical products,
personal care products, paper products, and the like. A method of making starch includes mixing native starch with water to form a
slurry; adjusting the pH of the
slurry to be alkaline; and mixing a cross-linking agent with the
slurry to realize a cross-linking reaction.