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cornstarch

  (kôrn'stärch') pronunciation
n.

Starch prepared from corn grains, used industrially and as a thickener in cooking.


 
 

A dense, powdery "flour" obtained from the endosperm portion of the corn kernel. Cornstarch 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.

 
material made by pulverizing the ground, dried residue of corn grains after preparatory soaking and the removal of the embryo and the outer covering. It is used as laundry starch, in sizing paper, in making adhesives, and in cooking. Dextrin, corn syrup, and corn sugar are produced by the hydrolysis of cornstarch. See starch.


 
WordNet: cornstarch
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: starch prepared from the grains of corn; used in cooking as a thickener
  Synonym: cornflour


 
Wikipedia: cornstarch
Products treated with cornstarch
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Products treated with cornstarch

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. It has a distinctive appearance and feel when mixed raw with water or milk, giving easily to gentle pressure but resisting sudden pressure (see Non-Newtonian fluid). It is usually included as an anti-caking agent in powdered sugar (10X or confectioner's sugar). For this reason, recipes calling for powdered sugar often call for at least light cooking to remove the raw cornstarch taste.

Amylophagia is a condition involving the compulsive consumption of excessive amounts of purified starch, often cornstarch.[1]

The composition of cornstarch varies depending upon the feedstock, but it may considered to be approximately 25% amylose and 75% amylopectin.[2]

Uses

Cornstarch is often used as a binder in puddings and similar foods. Most of the packaged pudding mixes available in grocery stores include cornstarch. Cornstarch puddings may be easily made at home, benefiting from the use of a double boiler. The most basic such pudding may be made only from milk, sugar, cornstarch and a flavoring agent.

It may be 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. It is also found in many gluten-free recipes.

Cornstarch also has many uses in the manufacturing of environmentally-friendly products. For example, in 2004, the Japanese company Pioneer announced a biodegradable Blu-Ray disc made out of cornstarch. [3] The use for the plastic is vast, as it is a renewable plastic that has the benefits of being biodegradable, used in injection molding, in extruders, and other common milling processes. [4]

Cornstarch has been used as a replacement for talc in baby powder.

A mixture of 1 parts water to 1.5–2 parts cornstarch is a popular classroom demonstration of a dilatant (shear-thickening) fluid, often called Oobleck. When struck, cut with a knife, or worked vigorously in the hands, it behaves like a pliable solid, but if allowed to sit for a few seconds, it flows as a viscous liquid.

References

  1. ^ http://archfami.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/9/7/649
  2. ^ http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070129085614AAUKhdK
  3. ^ http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=14322
  4. ^ http://www.japan-cornstarch.com/hh_13.htm

 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food Lover's Companion. Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cornstarch" Read more

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