Ever Used Arrowroot Powder

[Lynxear]

A long time ago when I first suspected I had a problem with wheat a naturopath suggested I use Arrowroot powder as a thickener for gravies and soups.

IT WORKS GREAT! As a thickener you use less than you normally would if you used flour and about the same as if you use cornstarch.

I love liver when it is stir fried. I coated the 1" pieces in arrowroot powder before stir frying them and they have a very "light" taste compared to using cornstarch. (I like liver that is soft but cooked....I had liver at a restaurant where you could sole your shoes with the cooked product....yuck!!)

Arrowroot powder is available at your favourite healthfood store and is very cheap too....try it I think you will like it.

[Canadian Karen]

Hi Lynxear!

I just wanted to know if you knew about the Bulk Barn. If you go in there, they have a gluten free section with all different gluten free flours. It is alot cheaper buying it that way and since the one I go to, the bins are nowhere near any gluten flours, I have not had any cross-contamination issues.......

Just thought I would let you know!

Have a great day!

Karen

[Lynxear]

Hi Lynxear!

I just wanted to know if you knew about the Bulk Barn. If you go in there, they have a gluten free section with all different gluten free flours. It is alot cheaper buying it that way and since the one I go to, the bins are nowhere near any gluten flours, I have not had any cross-contamination issues.......

Hi Karen - I don't live in Toronto anymore. I used to 18 years ago (Bathurst/St. Clair area) but since then I have lived in Calgary.

I must confess that I am not Celiac. I don't react to traces of Gluten as many do on this site. My problem is at the "macro" level. Wheat and products based on wheat cause bloating when I eat them.

I also am convinced that there is some kind of relationship between my blood fats and wheat. It sounds silly but the ancedotal evidence leads me to this conclusion. Your blood fats are supposed to vary slowly with changes in medicine or diet. But my body chemistry is such that in the past, simply stop eating wheat for a month lowered my blood fats....my GP did not believe the result. I went to a naturopath at the time (GP's and Naturopaths don't get along) and my GP accused me of being hopped up on some herb of some time....not true...I had been on a cleansing diet which involved no wheat.

Later when I lived in Thailand for 6 months and had little or no wheat my blood fats went from 10x high risk to high normal. Soooooo I fell off the wagon and let wheat become a major part of my diet agian. I gained 30 lbs and my diabetes and blood fats went out of control. So a little over 2 weeks ago I became serious about keeping wheat out of my diet. In 3 weeks time I will test my blood fats again and see if there is a change.

I am rambling......sorry

This site has been an eye-opener to me. I always thought there was a root cause to my several health problems. I think wheat is it....but not at the point where I get violently ill at traces of it. I suppose there are various degrees of intolerance and I am at the higher end.

So please forgive me if I neglect the strictest sense of gluten intolerance.

That aside....I think Arrowroot powder is SUPERIOR to cornstarch and flour as a coating or thickener. It has a light taste as a coating and a wonderful response and a gravy maker.

[plantime]

Arrowroot powder, huh? I'll have to remember that one, and try it. Thanks for the tip!

[Guest Robbin]

Lynxear, Thanks for the info on arrowroot powder. I was wondering about it, but have so many other flours in the cupboard now, I hate to try something without knowing what it will end up like.

Also, an interesting thing I discovered about myself. I was tested by enterolab after struggling with symptoms and I also had the gene test. I have a gluten intolerance gene. I also have a diabetic (type I) son, type II diabetic mom, brother, aunt, and grandparents (maternal). I'd read about the links to celiac and diabetes, so I did some research and found that the gene I have is the gene that is a marker for type I and type II diabetes as well as some other autoimmune diseases (Lucky me ) Anyway, I think you are on to something really important here and you should take this very seriously and try total gluten-free. Just try it for a month or so and see what a difference it makes going totally gluten-free. I know it is hard with the diabetes, so ask your drs. before and also there are quite a few diabetics on here who are expert at managing the diet who can offer advice. I'm saying this out of concern, since I have seen way too many people suffer with the high triglycerides, cholesterol and diabetes issues. Take care.

[tonyevans]

Hi

Yes, it's also called Tapioca Flour. Now showing my age, it was used as a remedy for "the trots"

Some thickening agent eh?

I've always found it a very versatile flour , even BC (before celiac)

Tony

[Rusla]

I have used arrowroot many times. I also use cornstarch but if you are doing a white sauce I would definitely use arrowroot. Cornstarch is a little bitter for that type of sauce.

[jerseyangel]

Hi

Yes, it's also called Tapioca Flour. Now showing my age, it was used as a remedy for "the trots"

Some thickening agent eh?

I've always found it a very versatile flour , even BC (before celiac)

Tony

Tony--Thank you so much! I did not know it was the same as tapioca. Tapioca makes me very sick--I was thinking about trying arrowroot--you saved me from finding out the "hard way"!!

[Lynxear]

Tony--Thank you so much! I did not know it was the same as tapioca. Tapioca makes me very sick--I was thinking about trying arrowroot--you saved me from finding out the "hard way"!!

Like many things....it is hard to determine whether the "Arrowroot" powder in the store is real "arrowroot" powder or Tapioca starch. I don't have a problem with either one so to me it does not matter. But I am coming to realize that there are so many things to be careful of with members of this group that what is good for me is not necessarily good for someone else

I have done some research on the 'net and there are many articals on Arrowroot and Tapioca. In scientific terms they seem to be different, though related....whether that happens when they hit the commercial store floor is another store and certainly a question to ask your retailer as to the composition of the source if tapioca is a problem in your diet.

I offer this sampling for your perusal:

Open Original Shared Link

Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea), a fine powder from the dried rootstalks of a tropical tuber dissolved in a little water. Apparently native to St. Vincent's Island in the West Indies, arrowroot stems are complex carbohydrates with a molecular structure that enables the thickening to occur at a lower cooking temperature than most starches (like cornstarch, below). That means you're less likely to burn it--and, because it has less protein (which clouds liquids) than other starches, it can be used in powder form or dissolved in bath water to soothe irritated skin.

Cornstarch (Zea mays), a dense flour made from a corn kernel's endosperm, also dissolved first in water. Why doesn't it cause lumps? Because it doesn't contain any gluten.

Tapioca (Manihot esculenta or dulcis)--the starch of the tropical cassava root--that can be diluted in water then stirred in just before serving. The fresh roots are grated, then left to ferment. They are then pressed and the residue is baked into a flat cake. This cake is powdered in pure starch. Tapioca is achieved when this starch is moistened then quickly heated--it just balls right up. Quick-cooking tapioca will thicken soups nicely but leave tiny pieces of tapioca suspended in the liquid. If you don't like it, try to find tapioca flour instead...or process the quick-cooking tapioca in a blender until it's powdered.

Open Original Shared Link

Arrowroot and tapioca starch are very similar in source, manufacture and paste characteristics. As a result they are often confused. In fact, some commercial "arrowroot starch" marketed is actually tapioca starch. The extraction and refining is similar to cassava (tapioca). The peel contains a bitter constituent.

Open Original Shared Link

arrowroot, any plant of the genus Maranta, usually large perennial herbs, of the family Marantaceae, found chiefly in warm, swampy forest habitats of the Americas and sometimes cultivated for their ornamental leaves. The term arrowroot is also used for the easily digestible starch obtained from the rhizomes of M. arundinacea, the true, or West Indian, arrowroot, which is naturalized in Florida.

Other plants produce similar starches, e.g., East Indian arrowroot (from Curcuma angustifolia of the Zingiberaceae, or ginger family), Queensland arrowroot (from a canna of the family Cannaceae), Brazilian arrowroot, or tapioca, of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family), and Florida arrowroot, or sago. True arrowroot is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Zingiberales, family Marantaceae.

As can be seen in the last quote a confusion may be because tapioca is also called Brazilian arrowroot...even though they seems like Tapioca and true Arrowroot come from different "families"

I suppose that due to this confusion....as always...one must ask questions if tapioca starch is a problem in your diet...also since they are similar being a tuber you may have have problems with one if you have problems with another....then again the potato is a tuber too.....

[jerseyangel]

Lynxear--I appreciate you going to so much effort to clarify that for me! You're right, among our group, you will run into many instances of additional food sensitivites! Ya know what they say--'you can't please all of the people all of the time' . Arrowroot does indeed look like a whole different animal than tapioca. Since other tubers, like potatoes, are no problem for me--I will feel confident in trying it. (I remember years ago, I would give my sons arrowroot teething biscuits) Since I have so few grains and starches left to work with, I can always use another option. Thanks again!

[NicoleAJ]

I've actually tried both--I have an extreme allergy to arrowroot , which has caused me to rush to the hospital with a closed throat, but I have absolutely no problem with tapioca starch or flour. So Jerseyangel, I agree that you'll probably be fine with arrowroot.

[jerseyangel]

I've actually tried both--I have an extreme allergy to arrowroot , which has caused me to rush to the hospital with a closed throat, but I have absolutely no problem with tapioca starch or flour. So Jerseyangel, I agree that you'll probably be fine with arrowroot.

Thanks, Nicole