Boas Comidas

Glossário Culinário

Cornstarch

Ingrediente

Origem
Corn
Também chamado de
corn starch

Cornstarch is a white, fine powder extracted from the corn kernel, used to thicken and give creaminess to sweets and savory dishes. Dissolved in cold liquid and taken to the heat, it forms smooth, glossy creams, and is the base of manjar branco, porridges, pavê creams, sauces and creamy pies.

Characteristics

It is tasteless, odorless and silky in texture, which lets it thicken without changing the recipe’s original flavor. In contact with hot liquid, the granules swell and gelatinize, creating a spoonable consistency. It goes from thin liquid to firm cream in a few minutes of gentle boiling, and keeps firming as it cools. Store in a tightly closed jar, in a dry place, as it cakes easily with moisture. To avoid lumps, always dissolve first in a little cold milk or water before adding to the hot preparation.

Uses in the kitchen

  • Creamy sweets: thickens manjar branco, passion fruit pavê creams, lemon pavê and strawberry pie and lemon pie fillings.
  • Porridges and baby food: gives body to corn porridge, creamy curau and children’s pap, with slow cooking and constant stirring.
  • Savory sauces: adjusts the texture of white sauce, stroganoff sauce and thin broths, without weighing down the flavor.
  • Cakes and cookies: replacing part of the flour, it leaves carrot cake, cornmeal cake and sequilhos lighter and softer.
  • Frying: a fine dusting over potatoes and chicken before frying helps form a dry crust.

Substitutions

Potato starch, arrowroot and cassava starch thicken in a similar way, adjusting the dose little by little because the gelling power varies. Wheat flour also thickens creams and sauces, but asks for slightly longer cooking to lose the floury taste and leaves the cream less translucent. In gluten-free recipes, cornstarch is already a good option, replacing part of the flour with a prior texture test. For dusting fried foods, rice flour works well as a dry alternative.

Fun facts

Stirring always over medium-low heat keeps the bottom from catching and the cream from getting lumpy. If it gets lumpy, beat with a whisk or pass through a sieve while still hot to smooth it out. Starch creams firm up in the fridge, so serve pavês and manjares well chilled for the slice to come out clean and glossy.

Recipes with cornstarch

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