1,582 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 77 videos

This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...

The super powers of cornstarch

I start this new year by evoking an old product, that you most probably have in your cupboards, a white powder, often in a small cardboard package with a slightly outdated look, only the "gluten free" is relatively recent, it is simply cornstarch, hence its name of maïzena.

It's used for a lot of things, mainly as a thickener in pastry, but it can also, sometimes, work small miracles in the kitchen.

17 K

Keywords for this post:Flour Corn Cornstarch Thickener Starch Sauce Pastry

Last modified on: January 14^th 2022

For this post: Comment Follow Ask me a question Send to a friend

The super powers of cornstarch

How does it work?

See what happens when you make a béchamel sauce? It's pretty liquid because of all the added milk, but it heats up slowly while you stir regularly, and suddenly bim! The whole thing thickens and your béchamel is there, thick and creamy.

béchamel

A simple physical thing happened, the grains of starch in the flour, contained in the roux, finally exploded under the effect of the heat, around 60°C, and immediately absorbed a big part of the milk to form a starch, that's the béchamel.

The link with cornstarch is that it can do the same thing, but as it contains only starch (from corn), its binding power is stronger.
Add to that the fact that it doesn't add any taste, and you have a binder that can be used in many recipes, sweet or savoury, and situations of which here are a few.

Soups and veloutés

When you make a soup (a blended soup) of pumpkin for example, there is sometimes a little problem of texture: it settles, vegetable pulp at the bottom of the pan and water on top.
It doesn't change the taste, but it's not a very pretty or pleasant texture, especially if it's been waiting a while.

potage potimarron

Solution : Mix 2 tablespoons of cold water with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and incorporate this mixture with a blender or a whisk at the end of the cooking time, you will be amazed by the creamy effect obtained.

Dishes in sauce

When you make a dish in sauce like beef bourguignon, coq au vin, or blanquette de veau, you often need to add flour and cook for a very long time uncovered to obtain a thick sauce. Sometimes, frustratingly, it doesn't even thicken (well).

bœuf bourguignon

Solution: Same treatment as for the soup, a tablespoon is enough, added by mixing briskly (whisk, spatula), the neutral taste of cornstarch ensures a thick sauce with an unchanged taste.

You want to prepare a sauce with a deglazing (you pour a liquid, wine for example) of the cooking pan, but without using cream?
No problem, deglaze, bring to a boil and whisk in the cornstarch + water mixture, a large teaspoon is enough. Velvety sauce guaranteed.

Catching up with disasters

You have made a custard, for example, and it has dissociated? All is not lost, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch + water to the mixer.

Replacing the flour

In some preparations, pastries, creams etc. traditionally made with flour, you can very often replace the flour with cornstarch, because flour, in this context of cooking at low temperature, has a tendency to soften the preparation. That's why pastry cream, almond cream, and even some cookies, will be better and easier to make with cornstarch than with flour.

As you can see, cornstarch is your friend, it's always good to have a pack of it in your cupboards, and it can be used in many ways, mainly as a thickener.

The power of cornstarch again: Make this delicious chocolate cornstarch cream with your kids (less than 5 minutes), you'll have a huge success!

crème maïzena au chocolat

To sum up: Cornstarch is an excellent binder in cooking and baking, it can be used in many recipes, but also to make up for small disasters.

Lasts posts

Cut twice as fast

When you need to cut something long into small pieces, for example chopped chives or the stem of a spring onion, there's a simple gesture that doubles your cutting speed. Let's see how.
May 21^th 20261,728

The other use for bowl scraper

Your kitchen or bakery utensils may include a horn (left) or a pastry cutter (right). These practical utensils are normally used to scoop the contents of a bowl or salad bowl - the horn - or to cut dough - the pastry cutter. But they also have another, very practical use - let's see what it is.
May 9^th 20261,623

The strange foam of potatoes in milk

As you may have already noticed, when you cook potatoes in milk, especially in small pieces (slices or cubes) for a gratin for example, a surprisingly abundant white foam forms on the surface. Where does it come from?
April 26^th 20261,841

A little leftover butter

Very often when you're making a cake, your recipe will tell you to melt some butter and mix it into the batter - a classic for cookies, cakes, moelleux and the like. And every time you do this, you'll have to butter the baking tin to prevent the dough from sticking during baking. Naturally,...
April 16^th 20261,8065

A tablet holder

Perhaps you too cook by consulting your recipe on a tablet or phone, and putting it down on your worktop? It's practical, but not the best solution. Here's a look at how you can make an inexpensive, almost universal stand.
March 14^th 20262,4025

See all posts Random post RSS feeds

Other pages you may also like

Tranché, dissociated, failed, in short... missed!

When preparing a sauce or a cream, there's always a (small) risk that the creamy preparation you're working on will suddenly separate into two parts of different textures: a liquid part, for example, and a more or less solid part, or even become lumpy. It's terribly frustrating, but we'll see...
June 19^th 202315 K5

Parsley stems

Parsley, whether curly or flat, is a delicious ingredient in many recipes, where it is used both raw and cooked. When used raw, in a salad for example, where it always provides, alone or with other herbs, a remarkable freshness, only the leaves are kept. And when used cooked?
July 28^th 20259,780 13

The window-pane test in bread-making

The home bread-makers often ask themselves “Have I kneaded my dough long enough?” . A good question, as dough that is insufficiently kneaded will not rise properly or will fall flat when the top is slashed, which is very frustrating. To know when the dough is ready, one can rely on the length...
June 16^th 202199 K 23.9

What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?

This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .
February 7^th 2017137 K 14.2

Candied fruits: don't get ripped off

Do you like candied fruit? You might like to nibble a handful or add it to a recipe, like a classic fruit cake or delicious Italian specialities like panettone or sicilian epiphany pie.
June 21^th 201771 K 24.2