2

I'm not an experienced baker, so I need a little help. I don't like the sweet taste corn starch leaves in some items I bake, like cornbread (cornbread is not supposed to be sweet, that's cake). Do alternative thickeners such as arrowroot or tapioca flour leave a sweet taste?

Thanks for your help!

Klnok
  • 21
  • 1
  • 8
    Cornbread usually has corn*meal*, not corn starch, and it doesn't usually need any thickeners. Can you share a recipe that's giving you trouble? – Cascabel Feb 06 '17 at 00:16
  • 2
    Looking on line, cornbread recipes with cornstarch in seem to be pretty rare. Even the Argo-Kingsford website listed a corn muffin recipe without corn starch. (The Argo product that the recipe used turned out to be Argo brand baking powder.) Corn starch has also never struck me as being sweet, although many cornbread recipes call out lots of sugar, and do wind up being sweeter than some might expect. Is it possible there is a mix-up or language confusion between maybe corn meal, corn flour, & corn starch? – Lorel C. Feb 06 '17 at 00:32
  • 2
    There are two main types of corn bread - northern and southern. One is more on the sweet side and the other is not sweet. They also tend towards different textures. You should check your recipe to see if you're using one of the sweet-style ones. – Catija Feb 06 '17 at 01:59
  • 4
    @Klnok Is it possible you're confusing corn flour with cornstarch like Lorel C. mentioned? In the UK, corn **flour** is what people in North America call corn**starch** and what we call corn **flour** is very finely ground corn meal. It feels like regular flour but is yellow. I add some to my homemade pancake mix. – Jude Feb 06 '17 at 03:32
  • I think we need to see a recipe @Klnok, that will answer many questions. – GdD Feb 06 '17 at 09:06
  • 1
    @Jude In the US, we also have both corn flour and corn starch. Corn flour is *not* what we call corn starch. Just clarifying. :) – Cindy Feb 06 '17 at 10:06
  • @Cindy. Yes, that's what I meant. For anyone else reading and unsure - cornstarch is white, a very fine powder and 'squeaks' when rubbed together. Corn flour is less fine and it's yellow. – Jude Feb 07 '17 at 09:02
  • Are you storing your dry goods in bulk containers (not original packaging)? Then I would suggest you try using confectioner's sugar instead ;) – rackandboneman Sep 09 '17 at 09:18
  • All, thanks for your input. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner (infrequently used email address). At this point I can't remember what recipe I was referencing. However, yes, I was asking about corn starch, not any of the other suggestions. Thanks again and have a great weekend! – Klnok Sep 23 '17 at 19:47

0 Answers0