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Tapioca Starch Flour Taste Problems?

dandelionsrflowers

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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...
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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.

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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.

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