Weightless white powder, which when compressed makes the sound of snow creaking underfoot, is called starch. It has been known to people for a long time, and in every corner of the planet it is made from different products. In cooking, starch is used as a thickener for liquid dishes and a baking powder for baking. The most popular are potato and corn starches. Is it possible to replace one with another in the recipe, depends on some differences in these products.
Types of Starches
To date, a natural thickener is made from potato, corn, rice, wheat and cassava.
Less common are products made from rye, barley and peas. In our country, potato and corn starches are common. Is it possible to replace one with another, will be described in detail below. Rice thickener is less common.
Terms of use
To make a liquid dish thicker, for example, jelly or sauce, starch must first be dissolved in a small amount of cold liquid. It can be water, juice, broth, cream and so on, depending on what is being prepared. For the sauce, in some cases, it is allowed to first fry the dry starch in a frying pan in butter, and only then add liquid to the container, but it is already hot and in full.
Is it possible to replace corn starch with potato in baking? To do this, you just need to change the proportions of the product, since each has its own characteristics. Dry starch is added to the dough for friability and splendor, and in the filling to give a creamy texture.
Cook tips
If starch is added to the dough, it is recommended to use dairy products for its preparation. The only exceptions are biscuits.
When preparing sauces or jelly, thickener should be added strictly at the end of cooking, after which immediately reduce the fire or remove it altogether. This is due to the fact that with prolonged heating, potato starch loses its properties and the dish begins to spread again.
Can potato starch be replaced with corn in sauce? In fact, cooks do not recommend this, since the corn product thickens at higher temperatures. In order for the dish to work out this way, it will have to be kept on the stove with the added thickener much longer, this should be taken into account.
It is also very important to observe the proportion of starch to other products in the recipe. If you add it too much, the dish will be hopelessly spoiled.
Dry use
We all know flour breading for frying foods, but starch breading is traditional in some countries. Mixing starch with spices and deep-fried fish in this, you can get a crispy and shiny crust, which will retain all the juiciness of the main product.
Cooking any product in a traditional Chinese pan with a convex bottom and adding starch will give the finished dish a very appetizing look.
Features of the cream
The main difference between potato starch is that it thickens the dish to a greater extent, but when added in large quantities, it gives a certain unpleasant aftertaste. In addition, with prolonged heat treatment, it loses its properties. Is it possible to replace corn starch with potato custard at the same time? Theoretically possible, but the result will not be the best. Corn starch gives liquids a more uniform consistency, a beautiful glossy shine and leaves no foreign taste at all.
For products with prolonged heating in cooking, it is better to choose a thickener from corn. For jelly, it’s better to take potato starch, since corn starch will make it cloudy.
Baking substitute
Can cornstarch be replaced with potato in the cake? It all depends on the many nuances that should be considered. On the one hand, a potato product loses its properties with prolonged heating and can spoil the final dish during baking. On the other hand, the thickening properties of corn powder are reduced when a large amount of sugar or acid is added with it.
Cooks on this occasion are advised to adhere to the recommended recipe and not to leave it if there is a desire to get a guaranteed result. If there is no way to strictly follow the recipe, you can experiment, because starches are theoretically interchangeable. It is only important to change the proportions, because the thickener of potatoes has a high viscosity. So is it possible to replace corn starch with potato without ruining the dish? For this, a corn thickener should be taken 1.5 times more if potato is indicated in the recipe, and vice versa. If the recommendations use a corn product, then a potato is 1.5 times less. This rule is ideal for biscuits, jelly and sauces, the main thing is not to forget about the temperature.
Cold porcelain
A simple mixture for sculpting from ordinary products was invented a long time ago. Its peculiarity is that when it hardens, it hardens and becomes like porcelain, and in skilled hands, products from it simply cannot be distinguished from really expensive ones.
Toys, decorative ornaments, flowers and much more are made from cold porcelain, but what does starch have to do with it? And despite the fact that it is one of the ingredients for mixing raw material. In almost all recipes of the mixture, it is recommended to use a thickener from corn. Is it possible to replace corn starch with potato in cold china? It is possible, but the result will not be so high-quality. The thing is that mixed products must be well cooked before kneading, and, as is already known, with prolonged heat treatment, potato starch loses its properties.
If the corn product is simply not available, then you can choose a recipe without cooking. Fortunately, today there are already a lot of them, and you can find recommendations for any circumstances.
Conclusion
So, is it possible to replace corn starch with potato? The article describes the most common use cases for these thickeners in both cooking and needlework. Based on the characteristics of the products under consideration, we can conclude that they are interchangeable almost always, but subject to the recommended proportions when added.
Of course, cooks do not recommend changing the ingredients in the recipes on their own, as this can significantly affect the taste of the dish, but if there is no other way, then you just need to follow the tips listed above and remember the features of each starch. If your own experience has long allowed you to change products in the right ratio or taste requires something new, then culinary experiments will only expand your horizons.