Solubility of polysaccharides in water

Question

Why is cellulose insoluble in water, while starch is more soluble (however not perfectly)?

I thought that since cellulose was a straighter molecule and starch more curved, it should make sense that more hydrogen bonds between water and the polysaccharide molecule can be created between cellulose and water than between starch and water

Answer 1

Due to the shape of cellulose chains, they are more easily able to stack with each other. This effectively blocks water from interacting with all but the outer layers so there are fewer hydrogen bonds for the same molecular mass. Another way to look at it is that (because of the stacking) multiple chains act like one particle or molecule. This increases the total mass of the particle and once the total mass reaches a critical point, the number of hydrogen bonds that can be made with water will not be able to keep the cellulose afloat in the solution.