Cornstarch

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Products made out of cornstarch

Cornstarch, or cornflour, is the starch of the maize grain, commonly known as corn. It has a distinctive appearance and feel when mixed raw with water or milk, giving easily to gentle pressure but resisting sudden pressure. It is usually included as an anti-caking agent in powdered sugar (10X or confectioner's sugar). For this reason, recipes calling for powdered sugar often call for at least light cooking to remove the raw cornstarch taste.

Cornstarch is often used as a binder in puddings and similar foods. Most of the packaged pudding mixes available in grocery stores include cornstarch. Cornstarch puddings may be easily made at home, benefitting from the use of a double boiler. The most basic such pudding may be made only from milk, sugar, cornstarch and a flavoring agent.

It is also used as a thickener in many Chinese recipes and French sauces, although in the latter case it is generally used as a time-saver to replace more traditional, time-consuming methods.

Cornstarch also has many uses in the manufacturing of environmentally-friendly products. For example, in 2004, the Japanese company Pioneer announced a biodegradable Blu-Ray disc made out of cornstarch.

Cornstarch has been used as a replacement for talcum powder by some.¹

A mixture of 1 parts water to 1.5–2 parts cornstarch (sometimes called oobleck) is a popular classroom demonstration of a dilatant (shear-thickening) fluid. When struck, cut with a knife, or worked vigorously in the hands, it behaves like a pliable solid, but if allowed to sit for a few seconds, it flows as a viscous liquid.

In Britain, Australia and most of the Commonwealth, this substance is known as cornflour.

Reference

• ¹ Ken Kesey, "I've Used Cornstarch on my balls for years!" , in The Last Supplement to the Whole Earth Catalog, Portola Institute, March 1971. (Reprinted in Ken Kesey's Garage Sale).

External links

• [A video of the very unusual behavior of cornstarch mixed with water]

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