Tapioca Starch vs. Cornstarch: A Comparison of the Starches

Tapioca starch, also known as tapioca flour, is a fine, white powder made from the starchy pulp of the cassava root, a tuber vegetable native to South America. After soaking, kneading, and straining the veggie, producers allow the pulp to dry, which creates its grainy texture. Tapioca starch has a slightly sweet taste compared to other flours, making it a great flour for dessert breads and pastries.

Many South American dishes incorporate tapioca starch to create a light and crispy pastry and bread dough; for example, pão de queijo is a Brazilian puffy cheese bread that uses tapioca starch as a base. However, this gluten-free flour also has a strong thickening power, making it a great agent for thickening puddings, sauces, soups, and stews.

Tapioca starch has many uses, both in and out of the kitchen, such as:

1. 1. Gluten-free baking: The main health benefit of tapioca starch is that it’s both gluten- and grain-free. Use it to make flatbreads, shortbreads, cakes, fruit pies, and pastries. The starch’s fine texture gives baked goods a light and fluffy consistency, and its sweet flavor is mild, so you can also use it for savory dishes. Some gluten-free recipes supplement the starch with tapioca flour or other alternative flour, such as almond flour or arrowroot flour, to increase nutritional value,
2. 2. Thickening agent: Unlike cornstarch, tapioca starch absorbs liquids before they reach a boiling temperature, making it a great thickening agent for no-heat settings. Add it to soups and stews or custards and puddings to quickly thicken these substances.
3. 3. Binding agent: By absorbing excess moisture, tapioca starch also improves the texture of foods, preventing sogginess. Chefs often add it to burgers and doughs to keep these foods from drying during the cooking process.
4. 4. Boba tea: Also known as bubble tea, boba tea is a milk- and tea-based drink that uses tapioca pearls to create black gummies with a chewy texture, which rest at the bottom of the liquid. The pearled tapioca balls are a signature to this popular drink.
5. 5. Fabric starch: For a DIY fabric starch, mix one teaspoon of tapioca starch with three cups of water and heat the mixture on the stove for five minutes. Fully dunk your clothing item into the bowl of tapioca starch, allowing the starch to absorb into the fabric. Wring out the clothing and let it dry out to achieve a nice press.

Cornstarch is a grain starch made from the endosperm of corn grain. For cornstarch production, producers soak the corn kernels in liquid and remove the endosperm—the nutrient-rich inner layer of the grain—from the grain, then extract the starch and dry it to form a white, flavorless, and odorless powder.

Like potato starch and other root starches, chefs use cornstarch to thicken soups, gravies, and other liquid food items. Often it’s mixed with a lower-temperature liquid—room temperature or cold water will work—to create a wet paste called a slurry. The addition of a higher-temperature butter or other fat makes a similar thickener called a roux.

Like tapioca starch, cornstarch is gluten-free and has several health applications: a paste made from cornstarch may soothe skin irritations, including sunburn, and help remove stains from fabric. In contrast, dry cornstarch may relieve fungal itch. Other popular corn-based flours include cornmeal and cornflour.

There are many diverse ways to use cornstarch:

1. 1. Food additive: Use cornstarch as a thickener for soups, gravies, meat marinades, pie fillings, and as a batter for Western and Asian fried foods. Manufacturers use it as an anti-caking agent in packages of shredded cheese and powdered sugar. The starch can act as an egg substitute in vegan recipes when mixed with warm water.
2. 2. Relieve itching or rashes: Cornstarch works in many health-related scenarios. A paste made of cornstarch may help relieve the pain and itching of insect bites, diaper rashes, burns, and skin infections. Dry cornstarch can alleviate oily skin, absorb moisture in shoes, and even serve as a dry shampoo.
3. 3. Pest control and stain removal: Cornstarch works as a stain remover for clothes, leather, fabric, and even silverware. It can ward off household pests, clean carpets and windows, and act as a homemade adhesive.
4. 4. Industrial: Companies that manufacture airbags, baby powder, and bioplastics, like drinking straws and food storage bags, often use cornstarch to produce these products. Additionally, cornstarch can strengthen textiles and prevent sticking in medical products like latex gloves. The pharmaceutical industry also adds cornstarch to certain medicine tablets and creams to help the body break down and absorb them.

Tapioca starch and cornstarch are both fine-grain flours with a few key differences:

• Source: While tapioca starch comes from the root of the cassava plant, cornstarch comes from corn kernels; therefore, tapioca starch is a root starch, and cornstarch is a grain starch. Root starches thicken at lower temperatures, making them great for thickening a sauce immediately after removing it from the stove. Grain starches thicken at high temperatures, so you can use cornstarch to thicken sauces or broths at the start of cooking.
• Sauce appearance: When making sauces, tapioca starch and cornstarch have different effects on the final product. While you can use either for thickening sauces, tapioca starch makes sauces slightly translucent with a glossy finish, whereas cornstarch makes sauces opaque with a matte finish.
• Temperature tolerance: Cornstarch is tolerant of high temperatures, making it ideal for recipes with a long cooking time. For recipes with a shorter baking time at a lower temperature, use tapioca starch.

You can use tapioca starch as a cornstarch substitute, but it’s best to use it for foods you plan on freezing. While cornstarch loses its texture in the freezer, tapioca starch remains consistent and does not turn gummy.

Tapioca starch is also a good substitute for cornstarch when you need to thicken a sauce after cooking. To substitute tapioca starch for cornstarch, use two tablespoons for every tablespoon of cornstarch.

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