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that you most probably have in your cupboards, a white powder, often in a small cardboard package with a slightly outdated look, only the "gluten free" is relatively recent, it is simply cornstarch, hence its name of maïzena.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.
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.
12 K
Keywords for this post:FlourCornCornstarchThickenerStarchSaucePastryLast modified on: January 14th 2022
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.
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.
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).
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!
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
Cake moulds
When we make a cake, or a cake of the same rectangular shape, we usually take out our usual mould and tell ourselves that the recipe is anyway "for a cake", but is it really that simple?August 25th 20255915
Thinning out herbs
If you need to add a long-stemmed herb (tarragon, mint, verbena, thyme, etc.) to a recipe, you'll probably only need the leaves and not the stem, so you'll need to remove the leaves. Leaf removal means keeping only the beautiful leaves, and eliminating the ugly stems and leaves, but how do you do...August 8th 20251,1725
Add a bay leaf
Bay leaf: small in size, but big in flavor. You'll find it in hundreds of recipes, and it's often added to cooking meat, in a sauce or broth, usually accompanied by other herbs or products. It's a staple of Provençal, Mediterranean and Oriental cuisine, but not the only one. Usually, in a...July 31th 20251,2565
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 28th 20251,345 13
A drizzle of olive oil
Often in a recipe, you have to "baste" vegetables, for example, before sending them to the oven. What the author means by this is that you need to put oil on top of the vegetables to cook them in the oven. Typically, we just quickly drizzle oil over the vegetables, hoping not to miss any, but...July 13th 20251,5385
Other pages you may also like
Kitchen ovens
You certainly have one in your kitchen, an oven, the essential tool for all kinds of cooking, whether in the kitchen of course, but also in pastry, bakery, pizza, and many others. Here is some information on its structure and operation.May 16th 202030 K4.4
Thinning out herbs
If you need to add a long-stemmed herb (tarragon, mint, verbena, thyme, etc.) to a recipe, you'll probably only need the leaves and not the stem, so you'll need to remove the leaves. Leaf removal means keeping only the beautiful leaves, and eliminating the ugly stems and leaves, but how do you do...August 8th 20251,1725
Fruits which can ruin your jelly
There are many ways of making a fruit mousse, but one of the simplest is to prepare a fruit jelly (basically a fresh fruit coulis with gelatine) and then mix this jelly before it sets completely with whipped cream. The result is perfect for filling a charlotte, for example. But do beware;...March 6th 201375 K4.0
Cooking scallops
We are, as I write these lines, in the season of the scallops, if you like that it is necessary to benefit from it as much as possible, although it is alas not cheap. I like scallops a lot, but I have to admit that it has naturally little taste, or, said differently, it takes the taste of what...November 23th 202110 K5
What can I use for blind baking a pastry case?
When it comes to home-made desserts, tarts are always popular. They can be divided into two basic types: those cooked with their filling, such as an apricot and almond cream tart, and those where the filling is added after baking the pastry case, such as a strawberry tart or chocolate tart. For...May 2nd 2017109 K4.5
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.