Thursday, April 16, 2009

Cornstarch: Good or Evil?

I just finished off my first ever box of cornstarch. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I bought it years ago before I was married. There's a picture of Martin Yan on the back from his Yan Can Cook! days. I have a feeling that he was probably a large part of why I bought it in the first place. I gave up on Cantonese-style stir-fries a long time ago. I've since used it in a few desserts and most recently in experimenting with vegan quiche.

The question is should I buy a new box? There has been a lot of media attention on corn in the past year or two: corn syrup, corn starch, GMO's. Now granted my corn starch is so old it was probably pre-GMO, but it's not exactly health food. There are supposedly healthier starches out there, and then there's the crowd of people eating to live beyond 100 who are eschewing starches and processed foods altogether. I, personally have a dear friend who has a sensitivity to many things, corn starch among them. Am I better off not replacing my box? What should I use instead? Kuzu? Potato? Tapioca? Arrowroot? Rice flour?

2 comments:

A. said...

I bought arrowroot the other day to try it out. I'll let you know what I think of it.

affectioknit said...

I have used both Kuzu and arrowroot successfully - you'll have to post your quiche recipe...