Arrowroot Powder Is A Thickening Agent

Arrowroot Powder

The mention of the word spices brings to mind those aromatic, flavorful ingredients that can magically transform what would otherwise be a bland, boring dish into a culinary masterpiece. In this respect, arrowroot is rather different from most conventional spices, as its main use in cooking is as a thickening agent. However, is in one respect similar to other spices, which is that a minute quantity is all that it takes to produce the desired effect.

History of Arrowroot Powder

Arrowroot is derived from the roots of a tropical South American plant after a fairly complicated process whose end result yields the powdery white Arrowroot starch resembling corn flour. Arrowroot was introduced to Europeans by the Arawak people of the Caribbean, who favored it highly as regarded it as a food with considerable nutritious and medicinal value (in fact, they called it “Aru Aru” meaning, “food of foods”). And while that is a perfectly good explanation as to how it came by its English name, another equally likely explanation is its use by the Arawak to draw out poison from wounds inflicted by poison arrows.

Arrowroot in Cooking

Arrowroot has a neutral taste and thickens at a lower temperature than corn starch, and hence can be used to thicken delicate egg-based soups and sauces. It also imparts an eye-pleasing glossy look to the sauce. However, care needs to be exercised not to add arrowroot too early during the cooking process, as overheating tends to destroy its thickening property.

Health Benefits of Arrowroot

Arrowroot is very light on the stomach and in Victorian times used to be concocted into a drink and given to convalescing patients, or as a jelly to babies being weaned. However, it has been established that its calorie content is low. Due to this fact, nowadays arrowroot enjoys great popularity among calorie-conscious dieters.

references:

Good Food: The Complete Guide to Eating Well by Margaret Wittenberg (Book)