corn starch: good, bad, neutral

[meowee]

Is corn starch bad for the human body? If yes, do you know why? I've noticed that whenever I eat a sauce thickened with cornstarch I feel blech.

[cathe]

Cornstarch is a refined product like white flour so not the ideal food for the body - also some people are allergic to corn. I use arrowroot powder instead (which is unrefined).

[sweetfeet]

So you can sub arrowroot powder for cornstarch 1:1? Does it act the same?

[cathe]

yes - 1 to 1 and it acts the same except you don't need to boil it to thicken like cornstarch.

[sweetfeet]

Fantastic. Thanks for the speedy reply. I found a recipe for a sauce that requires cornstarch. I don't even own cornstarch and wasn't thrilled about having to buy it.

[love2all]

I will also add our reason for not using cornstarch was the high likelihood that it was not only non-organic but probably geneticaly modified corn. Corn is one of those big no-no's to us.
Arrowroot or kudzu will replace the same way

[member]

Thanks for the info on arrowroot. Currently, I am using xanthan gum to thicken, but I am not sure how natural it is.

[cjr]

Arrowroot is an excellent thickener and prefered by professional chefs. It thickens just like corn startch, but it retains it's thickening properties. Whereas cornstarch does not. If you overheat cornstarch it will reverse and start to thin your liquid again. Be sure to buy arrowroot, meaning read labels. Alot of commercial arrowroot is actually cornstarch.