17
votes
Accepted
Can flour be used interchangeably with starch?
No, flour and starch are very different things.
Starch is a molecule consisting of a chain of glucose rings. It is one of the main ways plants store energy. In practice, it is extracted from many ...
- 124k
9
votes
Effect of potato water on bread (early experiment results)
I found this, it's Ask.com so even though I'm posting it as an answer, I don't consider it the answer. I'd still love to hear what some of the expert bakers here have to say.
(emphasis mine)
As you ...
- 58k
8
votes
Microwave pudding sediments
Unlike with stovetop recipes, you need not heat the major part of your milk first and then add the starch slurry, you can mix everything while cold. As with all similar microwave recipes, using a wide ...
- 53.9k
8
votes
Making a vegan potato-puree like course without whole potatoes
You're vague about what's available at a reasonable price in your area, but there are plenty of things that are used to make vegetable mash:
Root vegetables. (Turnip, parsnip, yams, sweet potatoes, ...
- 75.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Does starch thickened custard get thinner after a few days?
It is not the starch alone, but the combination of starch and egg yolks. Yolks contain an enzyme which digests starch after some time, making the whole custard thinner.
If you absolutely have to use a ...
- 124k
6
votes
Making a vegan potato-puree like course without whole potatoes
First, potato starch is exactly what you don’t want to use.
In a very non-scientific way of describing it, potato starch is what you get when you remove almost all of the potato, leaving you with ...
- 53.9k
6
votes
Help removing excess starch from potato chips
According to Food Lab, the chemical that causes browning in homemade potato chips is tyrosinase. That article contains some really nice pictures to help demonstrate the value of soaking. Like this one:...
- 3,790
5
votes
Microwave pudding sediments
When I wish to cook a pudding or sauce in the microwave, I heat most of the liquid ingredients (roughly 3/4th - 4/5th) in the microwave first. I keep a close eye on it and remove it just before it ...
- 3,943
5
votes
Accepted
For what dishes I should wash starch off red lentils?
The main reason why you rinse lentils and beans is to remove debris or shriveled lentils. Also for hygiene reasons, depending on where and what lentils you bought, they might include little stones, ...
- 578
4
votes
Accepted
Can I make potatoes sweet by cooking them?
What you intended won't work. I have also heard generic statements that cooking in principle breaks down complex carbohydrates to simple ones, but this doesn't mean that all complex carbohydrates will ...
- 124k
4
votes
Can I make potatoes sweet by cooking them?
The way to make potatoes sweet is actually to not cook them right away -- you need to chill them, to give the time for starches to convert to sugars. (it's called "Cold Induced Sweetening"), which is ...
- 75.3k
4
votes
Can I make potatoes sweet by cooking them?
A raw potato is 79% water, 17% carbohydrates (of which 88% is starch) and 2% protein. So your question is essentially: can starch be turned into sugar?
In theory the answer is clearly 'yes': this is ...
- 2,166
4
votes
Accepted
Why does rinsing lentils create foam? Is this natural?
Yes, it's perfectly natural. Dust being rinsed off the outer surface of the lentils makes the water more viscous and helps to trap air in the form of small bubbles. In a strainer, the dust would be ...
- 14.7k
4
votes
Can you make stew without onions?
If you were to cook meat in just water (possibly after browning it) you could call it a braise. In order to be a stew it probably needs some other ingredients. If you don't like or don't have onions, ...
- 10.6k
4
votes
Accepted
How do you make tapioca from cassava?
It is possible to do at home, but it is very labor intensive and requires equipment that most people don't have at home.
The first major step is to produce tapioca starch (ie tapioca flour). The ...
- 6,958
4
votes
Accepted
Pudding vs. laundry starch - Add water gradually or all at once?
Yes, both processes are valid ways of making pudding (not roux). You can either dissolve the starch in a little cold water first and then gradually warm it up, or you can dissolve the starch in all of ...
- 124k
3
votes
Does type of starch used for thickening make a difference in a fruit sauce?
Per this page from The Cook's Thesaurus many starches can be used for thickening but some work better than others for certain applications. For the purpose of a fruit sauce arrowroot would probably ...
- 18.2k
3
votes
Effect of potato water on bread (early experiment results)
Using the liquid in which a russet, also known as Idaho potato has been cooked to proof yeast and also incorporating the cooked mashed potato into the dough, is a time honored almost ancient method ...
- 31
3
votes
Effect of potato water on bread (early experiment results)
In 1997 I was seeking to make a good biscuit recipe while living in Albuquerque NM. In my research I found an article from 1905 in a local newspaper which stated to use potato-water to extend the ...
- 51
3
votes
Which is the better substitute for tapioca: corn starch or potato starch?
Both potato and corn starch would work equally well in the preparations you describe. When substituting flour, the proportions are equal, e.g., one tablespoon flour to replace the one tablespoon of ...
- 2,755
3
votes
What to add as extra starch for a burger?
One option would be a hash brown - that's mainly potato, so starchy and tasty. It's like putting the fried in the burger. You could also add another layer of bread of some sort, as in some ...
- 38.4k
3
votes
Accepted
Advice to making Boba Pearls
I visited some Chinese language websites, and it seems that there really isn't any magic here. Since their recipe is basically the same as the first one you linked to, I won't post any links here. I'...
- 479
2
votes
What is the binding power of starches vs flour?
When it comes to food 'thickness' (viscosity) is frequently discussed in 'relative terms' but not 'measurable units'. As such I'm not sure your question can be answered in 'absolute' terms.
Turning ...
- 18.1k
2
votes
Starch accumulating as sediment during shallow fry
Its your temp. The high temp of your deep fryer is exactly why your starches are staying put. Why did you choose a cooler temp for your shallow frying?
- 6,184
2
votes
Accepted
Why do Injera recipes call for adding boiling water or cooking down tef with some water?
I can’t give a definitive answer for Injera, but in baking, a boiled water/flour mixture (called tangzhong or water roux) is added to increase the dough’s water content, effectively binding more ...
- 53.9k
2
votes
Accepted
Corn/Potato/Rice/Flour starches in deep frying
Imagine you fry it as a whole
If you want potato starch. Think, what it is like to fry a whole potato because potato starch come from potato. People cook base on recipe and lost interest in how the ...
- 100
2
votes
How is starch content of some vegetables reduced by cooking?
Starch is a polymer of glucose. To use the glucose you need to break pieces off the starch. Starch concentration decreases as the starch molecules are broken up.
source
This is hydrolysis, ...
- 5,530
1
vote
How to make creamy/starchy risotto with brown rice?
The "dissolved" starch is going to make a sauce or "gravy". Different sources of starch will have a somewhat different taste. So experiment a bit with different sources of starch and see which tastes ...
- 2,633
1
vote
Why do Injera recipes call for adding boiling water or cooking down tef with some water?
It's a choux pastry trick (Eclairs). When starch is mixed in hot water, it will absorb the water and start swelling to the point where it's rubbery (it may be called gelatinizing) or spongy, which is ...
- 51
1
vote
Accepted
My dishes seem the same
Different Cuisines is definitely the way to go. Many dishes from South America (chile, brazil, argentina) seem truly innovative from an American palette. Maybe you can gain some excellent insights ...
- 240
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