Cornstarch has a place in every kitchen cabinet. This starch is often used as a thickening agent in stir-fries, soups, sauces, and more. But turns out this humble ingredient does far more than just that. Learn all about cornstarch and its many uses that can go even beyond the kitchen.
What Is Cornstarch?
Not to be confused with corn flour, which is made from whole kernels, cornstarch is made from the endosperm found at the center of the corn kernel. The starches inside the endosperm are removed, rinsed, dried, and milled into a fine powder. This leaves us with cornstarch — a white, chalky powder that has a variety of uses in the kitchen. It is most commonly used as a thickener for sauces and stews.
What Is Cornstarch Used For?
Cornstarch is primarily used as a thickening agent. It’s made up of a long chain of starch molecules that will unravel and swell when heated in the presence of moisture. This swelling, or gelatinization, is what causes thickening.
While thickening soups, stews, sauces, or custards, is what cornstarch is famous for, there’s a lot more you can do with this kitchen pantry staple.
What Can I Use Instead of Cornstarch?
If you ran out of cornstarch (it happens), don’t worry about your sauces and stews. You can still thicken them by substituting a few other pantry staples:
All-Purpose Flour: This flour contains about half the thickening power of cornstarch, so for every tablespoon of cornstarch required, you’ll need to use two tablespoons all-purpose flour.
Rice Flour: Like all-purpose flour, rice flour also has half the thickening power of cornstarch, so you’re going to want to measure accordingly.
Arrowroot Powder: If you happen to have this starch on hand, you’re in luck: it has the same thickening power as cornstarch. But one caveat about arrowroot — it doesn’t hold or reheat well.
Potato Starch: Like arrowroot, the potato starch has strong thickening powder, but it doesn’t last long after cooking.
Tapioca Starch: Tapioca is extracted from cassava, a root vegetable found throughout South America. It doesn’t have quite the thickening power of cornstarch, so for every tablespoon of cornstarch required, you’ll need to use two tablespoons tapioca starch.
12 Ways to Use Cornstarch
While you know cornstarch as a thickening agent, this versatile kitchen helper goes even beyond the kitchen. Between a little crowd-sourcing here in the office and a little online research, I found some pretty unique uses for cornstarch.
1. Egg Substitute in Baked Goods
Cornstarch is key in vegan baking, or anytime you don’t have an egg on hand: Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of warm water and you have a great egg substitute in cookies, cakes, or breads.
2. Make Fluffy Omelets
For fluffy omelets every time, mix a pinch of cornstarch with an egg, beat, and cook the omelet.
3. Make Crispy Waffles
The starch powder may help you scrap the soggy waffles. It can be added to the waffle mix to get a really crispy waffle crust.
4. Mix With All-Purpose Flour When You Don’t Have Cake Flour
No cake flour? No problem. Mixing cornstarch with a bit of all-purpose flour and baking powder can create this cake flour substitute when you’re in a pinch.
5. Thicken Sauces
Okay, this one goes without saying. To thicken sauces and other liquids, mix a bit of cornstarch with cold broth or water in a small bowl to create what’s called a “slurry.” Then whisk the slurry into the liquid you want to thicken as it simmers.
6. Thicken Fruit Pie Fillings
What’s the secret to a thick, almost gel-like pie filling? Cornstarch, of course. As the fruit cooks in pie, it releases juices. Without a little cornstarch, your pie would turn into a soupy mess. To avoid clumps, mix cornstarch with sugar before adding it to your filling.
7. Make Crispy Gluten-Free Fried Coatings
Try using it to ‘bread’ chicken, shrimp, or tofu to get it crispy instead of the regular flour or breadcrumbs. The corn starch offers a gluten-free crispy coating on your meats and veggies just like that of your favorite take-out.
