2007-02-24 23:20:25 · 12 answers · asked by PAT N 1 in Food & Drink ➔ Cooking & Recipes
it is an extract of corn flour or made from drying corn "juice", like the film left in the pot after you boil corn. Potato starch is made the same way (boil, remove vegetable, and then let the water evaporate). Corn starch is used (like potato starch) to thicken liquids in cooking. It is particularly useful in baking desserts and chinese food because it thickens without clouding the sauce, plus the result is shiny and slightly sweet (there's a lot of sugar in corn).
2007-02-24 23:23:37 · answer #1 · answered by proud_mom 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cornstarch (called corn flour in Britain) is made from corn. First the corn kernels are soaked and the outer covering is removed. The embryo - the center of the kernel that would become a new corn plant if the kernel were planted - is also removed.
What's left - mainly starch - is dried and ground up into a very fine powder. Starch is a long-chained carbohydrate that is produced by green plants through the process of photosynthesis. Other grains, like wheat and rice, and tubers such as potatoes, also store large amounts of starch that the plant uses for food.
2007-02-25 08:28:12 · answer #2 · answered by alanin28 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it is an extract of corn flour or made from drying corn "juice", like the film left in the pot after you boil corn. Potato starch is made the same way (boil, remove vegetable, and then let the water evaporate). Corn starch is used (like potato starch) to thicken liquids in cooking. It is particularly useful in baking desserts and chinese food because it thickens without clouding the sauce, plus the result is shiny and slightly sweet (there's a lot of sugar in corn).
2007-02-27 13:27:17 · answer #3 · answered by bad boy for life! 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cornstarch, or cornflour, is the starch of the maize grain, commonly known as corn. It is also ground from the endosperm, or white heart, of the corn kernel. For this reason, recipes calling for powdered sugar often call for at least light cooking to remove the raw cornstarch taste.Cornstarch is often used as a binder in puddings and similar foods. Most of the packaged pudding mixes available in grocery stores include cornstarchIt is also used as a thickener in many recipes. Cornstarch is best dissolved in cold water, as it forms obstinate lumps when mixed with warm or hot water.
2007-02-25 07:39:07 · answer #4 · answered by Pinky 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a dense, powdery thickening agent made from part of the corn kernel finely ground. But depending on what you are needing it it for,it may not be the right thinckener, cornstarch onec added will break down.
Arrowroot is also a good thickener and is good for gravys and sauces, but is doesn't reheat very well
File` is a powdered form of sassafras and works very well for soups and stews and adds rich texture and a woodsy, balsam-like flavor that cannot be reproduced with other seasonings. (Kroger and Publix both sell it, it's a cajun seasoning)
For baking I would say tapioca, but be sure to grind it in a food processer first or you will have little balls of tapioca through out.
A good link with other startchs and thickeners is:
http://www.foodsubs.com/ThickenStarch.html
2007-02-25 07:58:50 · answer #5 · answered by Berrypink 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Cornstarch is a dense, powdery "flour" obtained from the kernel of corn. It is most commonly used as a thickening agent for puddings, sauces, soups, etc. Because it tends to form lumps, cornstarch is generally mixed with a small amount of cold liquid to form a thin paste before being stirred into a hot mixture. Mixing it with a granular solid like granulated sugar will also help it disperse into a liquid. Sauces thickened with cornstarch will be clear, rather than opaque, as with flour-based sauces. However, they will thin if cooked too long or stirred too vigorously. Cornstarch is also used in combination with flour in many European cake and cookie recipes; it produces a finer-textured, more compact product than flour alone. In British recipes, cornstarch is referred to as cornflour.
It is also used as laundry starch, in sizing paper, in making adhesives.
2007-02-25 07:29:42 · answer #6 · answered by cat m 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Same as corn flour. It is made of dried, ground corn. Used for thickening soups and sauces. Flavourless.
2007-02-25 10:28:17 · answer #7 · answered by zakiit 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Corn flour
2007-02-25 07:22:47 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is what you use to IRON your Corn Plant to make it stand up.
No, seriously, it is used for thickening mostly in recipes.
2007-02-25 07:23:14 · answer #9 · answered by Ex Head 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is a thinkening agent used in fatty foods
2007-02-25 07:22:32 · answer #10 · answered by kyle_hayden987123 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋