Tapioca, Arrowroot, and Cornstarch – More Food Thickeners

I grew up using three starch thickeners that I haven’t worked with in a while. Arrowroot was used primarily in coconut pudding, cookies, and healthy porridge. Cornstarch bulked up Indian-Chinese dishes, and tapioca helped to set both sweet and savory food. As I tried to perfect roux with white flour and butter last week, I decided to revisit the three starches of my childhood.

Tapioca, arrowroot, and cornstarch have distinct properties. All three starches are neutral in taste and have a lighter, more powdery texture than flour. They can replace flour to thicken a stew or gravy and glaze a fruit pie. Tapioca and arrowroot are being rediscovered because of their gluten-free properties and are now commonly available; choosing between them depends on the type of ingredients needed for a dish. If the ingredients are acidic, then tapioca and arrowroot starch are preferable. If the dish is dairy-based, use cornstarch. Unlike flour that makes sauce opaque, tapioca, arrowroot, and cornstarch offer glazes that range from clear to glossy. Depending on whether a chocolate pudding benefits from shimmering glaze (use arrowroot), a fruit pie from a clear glaze (use tapioca starch), or creamy soup from a translucent glaze (use cornstarch), these starches offer a variety of ways to present the final dish.

What all three starches do have in common is that none of them can be added directly to a hot stock or liquid. They should first be mixed with equal parts water to form a watery mixture called slurry. The slurry is then added to the simmering stock and whisked continuously so that the starch gelatinizes and thickens. The slurry prevents the starch from clumping together. As with all starch thickeners, the key to achieving a smooth rich stock is to continuously whisk the starch so that the mix does not taste floury, until you reach the right consistency. Be mindful of overcooking.

 

	Arrowroot Starch	Cassava/Tapioca Starch	Cornstarch
Source	From a ginger-like rhizome	From a root tuber	From endosperm of corn
Slurry	Mix in cold liquid	Mix in cold liquid	Mix in cold liquid
Substitution for 1 tbsp. all purpose flour	1 ½ tsp	1 ½ tsp	1 tbsp
Best for	Fruits or similar highly acidic medium	Fruits and similar acidic medium	Dairy-based medium
Cooking times	Cannot be cooked for long periods, best below boiling point. Does not do as well as tapioca with dishes that have to be frozen. Does not do well reheated, so add just before needed.	Cannot be cooked for long periods. Good for dishes that are going to be frozen, like a fruit pie	Can be cooked for longer periods than the other two. Does not do well when the dish has to be frozen
Appearance of Final Dish	Shiny glossy glaze	Clear glaze	Translucent glaze

 

 

Coconut-Chocolate Pudding with Arrowroot

Organic unsweetened coconut milk – 1 ¾ cup

Cocoa powder – 4 tbsp

Semi-sweet chocolate morsels – 5 tbsp

Arrowroot powder – ¼ tsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Sugar – 2 tbsp

Cinnamon and nutmeg (freshly powdered) – ½ tsp

Crushed arrowroot biscuits or sugar cookies – topping

• To a ¼ cup of coconut milk, add cocoa powder and cinnamon, nutmeg powder and arrowroot. Mix well to form the slurry.
• Bring the remaining coconut milk to a simmer.
• Add salt and sugar to the warm coconut milk. Stir to dissolve.
• Take ½ cup of simmering liquid and mix well with the slurry. Add this mixture back to the simmering coconut milk. Whisk for a minute. Add the chocolate and continue whisking until it starts becoming thick, about 30 seconds or so. Remove immediately from heat.
• Pour into ramekins and chill for 8 hours or more.
• Before serving, sprinkle the crushed cookies on top.