Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Tapioca Starch Flour Taste Problems?

dandelionsrflowers

Recommended Posts

dandelionsrflowers Newbie
dandelionsrflowers
Posted

can tapioca starch flour go bad?

recently i have noticed that anything that i make with tapioca starch has an "off" taste. i also noticed it with a purchased premix flour blend (containing tapioca) and an additional bag of tapioca starch that i purchased once suspecting something was wrong. all had the same funny taste!

strange thing is... i don't notice the bad taste in premade products containing tapioca starch (udi's bread, cookies, etc.)

i am seriously getting frustrated with the constant kitchen disasters and the money wasted on all my "experiments"

thanks for any help you may offer!

-carrie

  • 3 months later...
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Frances03 Enthusiast
Frances03
Posted

I was looking for just this info tonight. I'm surprised no one ever answered this post. I had a bread recipe I had tried once and it had a strange taste I didn't care for, but the bread turned out so wonderfully as far as texture (not dry or crumbly) and sponginess (a lot like regular bread!) and sandwichability (I can use it to make a soft normal sandwich that doesn't fall apart when eating!). I made it again tonight but was determined to find the source of the yucky taste. I tasted each dry ingredient as I added it, and when I got to the tapioca starch, BOOM! It's nasty!!! So, I substituted cornstarch for it, and my bread was PERFECT with no funky weird taste. I have noticed this taste before in certain gluten-free items and I've always wondered what it was and now I know. I do NOT care for it at all. But like the original poster said, I dont notice it in certain things that contain it, so I'm not sure why some things with tapioca starch taste WEIRD and some don't!! I know I'm not using mine in a baked bread type item again!!

i-geek Rookie
i-geek
Posted

I've had the same problem with tapioca starch. Even a fresh bag gives an "off" smell IMO. I usually sub potato starch for it, although corn starch would work just as well. Considering how many recipes and products use it, I wonder if some of us are just super-tasters for it. A lot of people must like it, otherwise it wouldn't be so popular.

Frances03 Enthusiast
Frances03
Posted

It's definitely weird, because I LOVE Chebe, and it's made with tapioca, but it doesn't taste anything like this funky tapioca starch I have, or like Bob's Red Mill All Purpose, which I also think is funky because of the tapioca! It has that SAME weirdness about it. And I've noticed it in other things too, but why do some things with tapioca taste fine and others NEVER do. I cannot stand that bob's red mill and it has taken me all this time to figure out it's the tapioca in it. I just want to know what the deal is, B) LOL

MelindaLee Contributor
MelindaLee
Posted

It's definitely weird, because I LOVE Chebe, and it's made with tapioca, but it doesn't taste anything like this funky tapioca starch I have, or like Bob's Red Mill All Purpose, which I also think is funky because of the tapioca! It has that SAME weirdness about it. And I've noticed it in other things too, but why do some things with tapioca taste fine and others NEVER do. I cannot stand that bob's red mill and it has taken me all this time to figure out it's the tapioca in it. I just want to know what the deal is, B) LOL

What is the "off" taste like? I had some Udi's bread that had almost a chemical/metalic kind of taste. Though it was only part of 1 loaf of bread. Is this the issue you had?

lizard00 Enthusiast
lizard00
Posted

I've never had an issue with tapioca, but I usually buy Ener-g brand because it's cheaper and Whole Foods sells it (which is the only place I can find the other stuff I'm looking for). BUT, I don't like BRM's All Purpose mix because of the bean flour. ICK! :o I used it once for something and could barely eat it. It was gross! I'm a fan of most of Bob's stuff, but I don't care much for the mixes. I've never had any problems with the individual flours or anything.

Frances03 Enthusiast
Frances03
Posted

Yeah,I THOUGHT it was the bean flour in the Bob's Red Mill because I'd read a lot of people saying that, but one taste of pure tapioca starch was all I needed to know it was NOT the bean flour, it's the tapioca. The stuff is nasty. I dont know why it's okay in some things but the plain kind I have and the kind in the Bob's is totally gross.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


i-geek Rookie
i-geek
Posted

Yeah,I THOUGHT it was the bean flour in the Bob's Red Mill because I'd read a lot of people saying that, but one taste of pure tapioca starch was all I needed to know it was NOT the bean flour, it's the tapioca. The stuff is nasty. I dont know why it's okay in some things but the plain kind I have and the kind in the Bob's is totally gross.

I wonder if it's the way Bob's processes the tapioca. I love all of their other single-ingredient flours but can't stand the mixes (and I too thought it was the bean flours). Now that I think about it, Pamela's also uses tapioca and I love those mixes. Weird.

  • 1 month later...
anabananakins Explorer
anabananakins
Posted

I was just searching for info on this and turned up this thread. The gluten free bread I buy in australia has a very weird taste, I can only bear it as tuna sandwiches since the tuna hides the taste. The ingredients are:

Ingredients: Contains Rice Flour, Tapioca Flour, Water, Eggs, Almond Meal, Vegetable Gum (Xanthan), Linseed Meal, Yeast, Psyllium Husks, buckwheat, Rice Bran, Sugar, Iodised Salt, Emulsifiers (471,481), Vitamin (thiamin).

Then on holiday in the US I tried Bob's Red Mill Chocolate Chip cookies which also had the really weird taste.

Ingredients: brown sugar, evaporated cane juice, garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, semi-sweet chocolate chips (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), tapioca starch, whole grain white sorghum flour, fructose, fava bean flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, sea salt (magnesium carbonate as flowing agent), natural vanilla powder **Manufactured in a facility that also uses tree nuts and soy**

For some reason I thought the common ingredient was sorghum and I was really puzzled because Trader Joe's snickerdoodles which are DIVINE have sorghum as their main ingredient. Obviously that was in my head since the bread doesn't even have sorghum in it. Could the tapioca be the ingredient that is causing the weird taste? It's hard to describe but I find it overpowering and very unpalatable. As I mentioned, I only eat the bread with tuna and we didn't get through many of the cookies. Since gorging myself silly on Udi's white bread and bagels during my trip my bread expectations have risen considerably and I've decided I can't just settle for icky tasting bread anymore.

I thought tapioca pudding was supposed to be nice. Is that made from something different? I don't understand how other people can bear it, but maybe we've all lowered our expectations so much we just put up with it? If I can identify the evil tasting ingredient it will make shopping much less of a disappointment/waste of money. Appreciate any help!

SJR Newbie
SJR
Posted

I've never had a problem with tapioca flour/starch. I use it all the time. I have noticed two things though. 1) too many starches in a baked product gives it a strange taste, and 2) almost all Bob Red Mill products do not taste good.

freeatlast Collaborator
freeatlast
Posted

can tapioca starch flour go bad?

recently i have noticed that anything that i make with tapioca starch has an "off" taste. i also noticed it with a purchased premix flour blend (containing tapioca) and an additional bag of tapioca starch that i purchased once suspecting something was wrong. all had the same funny taste!

strange thing is... i don't notice the bad taste in premade products containing tapioca starch (udi's bread, cookies, etc.)

i am seriously getting frustrated with the constant kitchen disasters and the money wasted on all my "experiments"

thanks for any help you may offer!

-carrie

This is so wierd. I just came here to ask people on this forum the same question and got my question answered. Yes, I just went downstairs and tasted the Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Starch and THAT is it! I'm taking mine back to Whole Foods and getting another brand. It's a relatively recent bag, too, and I know my previous bags of Tapioca did not taste that way.

My Pumpkin Streudel Bundt Cake had a beautiful texture and an awful taste that I now know was the tapioca. Yuk!Yes, I'm getting sick of wasting money too.

freeatlast Collaborator
freeatlast
Posted

What is the "off" taste like? I had some Udi's bread that had almost a chemical/metalic kind of taste. Though it was only part of 1 loaf of bread. Is this the issue you had?

Exactly. It is a metalic or aspriny taste. Awful.

freeatlast Collaborator
freeatlast
Posted

Bob's Red Mill acknowledged the problem when I called, says they have a new supplier for tapioca and are sending me 2 replacement packages. Francesca said it was fine to pass along their phone number: 1-800-349-2173

Also, she said to even call them if we need help with recipes. I may take them up on that :)

  • 2 weeks later...
freeatlast Collaborator
freeatlast
Posted

Got my two replacement tapiocas last week. Thanks Bob's Red Mill!

  • 2 months later...
NonHuman Newbie
NonHuman
Posted

I was looking for just this info tonight. I'm surprised no one ever answered this post. I had a bread recipe I had tried once and it had a strange taste I didn't care for, but the bread turned out so wonderfully as far as texture (not dry or crumbly) and sponginess (a lot like regular bread!) and sandwichability (I can use it to make a soft normal sandwich that doesn't fall apart when eating!). I made it again tonight but was determined to find the source of the yucky taste. I tasted each dry ingredient as I added it, and when I got to the tapioca starch, BOOM! It's nasty!!! So, I substituted cornstarch for it, and my bread was PERFECT with no funky weird taste. I have noticed this taste before in certain gluten-free items and I've always wondered what it was and now I know. I do NOT care for it at all. But like the original poster said, I dont notice it in certain things that contain it, so I'm not sure why some things with tapioca starch taste WEIRD and some don't!! I know I'm not using mine in a baked bread type item again!!

Is that a secret recipe, or would you by chance be willing to share it with us... :unsure:

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Is that a secret recipe, or would you by chance be willing to share it with us... :unsure:

mcphena has not been active on the forum in the last couple of months. She may or may not see your post.

Marlie Apprentice
Marlie
Posted

I haven't tried Bob's Red Mill Tapioca starch but have only used EnerG brands Tapioca Starch. To be honest I have had zero success with anything from Bob's Red Mill. Maybe its because their flours are stone milled rather than finely milled. I don't know but now I don't buy their stuff. EnerG Tapioca Starch doesn't taste like anything.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Scott Adams
      0

      Celiac Disease Beyond the Western World: Hidden Populations, Changing Diets, and Growing Awareness

    2. Wheatwacked
      - Wheatwacked replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium. A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake. With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones. Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 1...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it. Gluten is the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part. Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein. Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat...
    4. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3. Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C. Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine. Weight...
    5. Florence Lillian
      - Florence Lillian replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      11

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free. I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,356
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    JAGAPG
    Newest Member
    JAGAPG
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium.  A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake.  With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones.  Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 10,000 IU D3 a day since 2015.  My doctor says to continue. To fix my lactose intolerance, lots of lactobacillus from yogurts, and brine fermented pickles and saurkraut and olives.  We lose much of our ability to make lactase endogenosly with maturity but a healthy colony of lactobacillus in our gut excretes lactase in exchange for room and board. The milk protein in grass fed milk does not bother me. It tastes like the milk I grew up on.  If I drink commercial milk I get heartburn at night. Some experts estimate that 90% of us do not eat Adequite Intake of choline.  Beef and eggs are the principle source. Iodine deficiency is a growing concern.  I take 600 mcg a day of Liquid Iodine.  It and NAC have accelerated my healing all over.  Virtually blind in my right eye after starting antihypertensive medication and vision is slowly coming back.  I had to cut out starches because they drove my glucose up into the 200+ range.  I replaced them with Red Bull for the glucose intake with the vitamins, minerals and Taurine needed to process through the mitochodria Krebs Cycle to create ATP.  Went from A1c 13 down to 7.9.  Work in progress. Also take B1,B2,B3,B5,B6. Liquid Iodine, Phosphatidyl Choline, Q10, Selenium, D and DHEA.     Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men +    
    • knitty kitty
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it.  Gluten is  the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part.  Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate  ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein.   Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat, and bran is the protective covering of the kernel.   Little to no gluten there.   Large amounts of lectins are in wheat germ and can cause digestive upsets, but not enough Gluten to provoke antibody production in the small intestines. Luckily you still have time to do a proper gluten challenge (10 grams of gluten per day for a minimum of two weeks) before your next appointment when you can be retested.    
    • knitty kitty
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3.  Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C.  Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine.   Weight gain with a voracious appetite is something I experienced while malnourished.  It's symptomatic of Thiamine B1 deficiency.   Conversely, some people with thiamine deficiency lose their appetite altogether, and suffer from anorexia.  At different periods on my lifelong journey, I suffered this, too.   When the body doesn't have sufficient thiamine to turn food, especially carbohydrates, into energy (for growth and repair), the body rations what little thiamine it has available, and turns the carbs into fat, and stores it mostly in the abdomen.  Consuming a high carbohydrate diet requires additional thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  Simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice, etc.) don't contain thiamine, so the body easily depletes its stores of Thiamine processing the carbs into fat.  The digestive system communicates with the brain to keep eating in order to consume more thiamine and other nutrients it's not absorbing.   One can have a subclinical thiamine insufficiency for years.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so the symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously.  Symptoms of Thiamine insufficiency include stunted growth, chronic fatigue, and Gastrointestinal Beriberi (diarrhea, abdominal pain), heart attack, Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.   Thiamine improves bone turnover.  Thiamine insufficiency can also affect the thyroid.  The thyroid is important in bone metabolism.  The thyroid also influences hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and menopause.  Vitamin D, at optimal levels, can act as a hormone and can influence the thyroid, as well as being important to bone health, and regulating the immune system.  Vitamin A is important to bone health, too, and is necessary for intestinal health, as well.   I don't do dairy because I react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten and causes a reaction the same as if I'd been exposed to gluten, including high tTg IgA.  I found adding mineral water containing calcium and other minerals helpful in increasing my calcium intake.   Malabsorption of Celiac affects all the vitamins and minerals.  I do hope you'll talk to your doctor and dietician about supplementing all eight B vitamins and the four fat soluble vitamins because they all work together interconnectedly.  
    • Florence Lillian
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Florence Lillian · Posted

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free.  I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree with me -  I just keep trying and have finally settled on Sports Research. I take NAKA Women's Multi full spectrum, and have not felt sick after taking 2 capsules per day -  it is a Canadian company. I buy both from Amazon. I wish you well in your searching, I know how discouraging it all is. Florence.  
    • catnapt
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By catnapt · Posted

      highly unlikely  NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean ground turkey but not much) I was off dairy for years but recently had to add back plain yogurt to meet calcium needs that I am not allowed to get from supplements (I have not had any problem with the yogurt)   I eat almost no processed foods. I don't eat out. almost everything I eat, I cook myself I am going to keep a food diary but to be honest, I already know that it's wheat products and also barley that are the problem, which is why I gradually stopped eating and buying them. When I was eating them, like back in early 2024, when I was in the middle of moving and ate out (always had bread or toast or rolls or a sub or pizza) I felt terrible but at that time was so busy and exhausted that I never stopped to think it was the food. Once I was in my new place, I continued to have bread from time to time and had such horrible joint pain that I was preparing for 2 total knee replacements as well as one hip! The surgery could not go forward as I was (and still am) actively losing calcium from my bones. That problem has yet to be properly diagnosed and treated   anyway over time I realized that I felt better when I stopped eating bread. Back at least 3 yrs ago I noticed that regular pasta made me sick so I switched to brown rice pasta and even though it costs a lot more, I really like it.   so gradually I just stopped buying and eating foods with gluten. I stopped getting raisin bran when I was constipated because it made me bloated and it didn't help the constipation any more (used to be a sure bet that it would in the past)   I made cookies and brownies using beans and rolled oats and dates and tahini and I LOVE them and have zero issues eating those I eat 1 or more cans of beans per day easily can eat a pound of broccoli - no problem! Brussels sprouts the same thing.   so yeh it's bread and related foods that are clearly the problem  there is zero doubt in my mind    
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.