A New Field
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Recipe

Starch bioplastic

The classic kitchen bioplastic: starch, water, vinegar and glycerine, cooked to a clear gel and poured thin.

Every A New Field recipe has been run in a domestic kitchen or community hall. Read the safety notes before you start and adapt for your venue.

What you’ll make

Flexible, clear to cloudy, dissolves in water over time.

Flexible slots (flex around your material)

  • Structural starch

    Starch (pantry form)1 tbsp (approx 8g)

    Refined starch in fine powder form. Gelatinises with heat and water into a binder.

    Examples Cornstarch, potato starch, tapioca

    Note — Corn is the standard.

  • Acid

    Acid1 tsp

    Mild household acids. Adjusts pH, curdles milk, releases pectin.

    Examples Vinegar, lemon juice

    Note — Clears the film.

  • Pigment (optional)

    Natural pigment / dyepinch

    Coloured plant, mineral or animal matter. Yields colour in water or alcohol.

    Examples Turmeric, charcoal, food colour

Fixed ingredients

  • Glycerine · 1 tsp
  • Water · 4 tbsp

Equipment

  • Saucepan
  • spatula
  • baking paper
  • flat surface.

Refinements and variations

  • Tapioca gives stretchier sheets, potato gives crisper, corn is the workhorse.

Source notes

Materiom 'Corn starch bioplastic'; widely replicated in schools.