Ingredients Series: Cornstarch / Cornflour

Okay, so what is the deal with Cornflour / cornstarch? I know many people who have basic knowledge on thickening sauces and one of those things that we Asians love using to thicken anything is using cornstarch or cornflour as it is better known in the UK. 

Cornstarch is actually a very versatile ingredient. It can be used in baking and in cooking. How you say? Like wheatflour, once you mix it with water it thickens up. Pour it into your sauce and stir a little to mix it up. Slowly the sauce will thicken up. In baking, it is used in cookies just to give it that extra oomph!

In the UK, it is easily obtainable in supermarkets as well as Asian grocery stores. The brand normally appearing in Asian grocery stores tends to look like pre-packed clear plastic bags with Chinese wordings on with that ubiquitous single English sentence in bold writing 'CORN STARCH' and at the same time stocking Maizena:

My family used this when I was back in KL. Here I just obtain housebrand versions of cornstarch like the one from Sainsbury's. Now you don't even need to search for thickening agents. Just use cornstarch!

Go discover a whole new world of cooking with cornstarch,

The Innovative Baker