Starch esters are made by: reacting a starch with an esterifying agent in the presence of a catalyst in a solvent for the starch ester, the esterifying agent including a mixture of at least two esterifying agents; or pre-treating a starch in a bath being free of an esterifying agent, and reacting the pre-treated starch with an esterifying agent in the presence of a catalyst. Articles are made by blending cellulose ester and starch ester, may be cross-linked, and may include internal plasticizers.