SC - Cornflour is corn starch
Philip & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
Thu Dec 23 10:52:15 PST 1999
Ras Rote:
>Corn flour is exactly that. A flour made from corn (e.g., maize) that is of
>the same texture as regular flour only yellowish is color. It makes an
>excellent substitute for wheat flour when used in coating food for pan or
>deep frying, providing a nice depth of flavor lacking in wheat flour.
>
>Cornflour is silky almost oily texture and can be used as a base for body
>powders or as a thickening agent for sauces and gravies. The closest flour
>that I can think of is rice flour so far as texture and some forms of usage.
Whew! Talk about semantic distinctions! (not at all criticism of you,
Lord Ras, you didn't make the labels). I suppose it's difficult to
hear the space when talking...
But i feel confident that it is the latter (your cornflour) that is
called for in the shortbread recipe. Using this, what i've usually
seen called "corn starch", will make the shortbread more tender and
delicate.
I don't know if rice flour would have the same effect. My experience
with rice flour is that it makes the things i've cooked with it
crisper, but then i use it differently than corn starch, and they may
ultimately have the same effect. I use rice flour in various Asian
recipes for pancake-y foods and assorted ethnic crisps, in other
words, pan fried and deep fried items. I've never used it in baking...
I suppose one could make the experiment - i can see it now, pan after
pan of shortbread - one all wheat, second a mix of wheat and masa
harina, third a mix of wheat and Ras's corn flour, fourth a mix of
wheat and corn starch (Ras's cornflour), and fifth a mix of wheat and
rice flour...
Anahita al-shazhiya
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