Tapioca starch - cassava root powder, Ararut, Manihot utilissima

Manihot starch

Marantae amylum from Manihot utilissima, Arrowroot, Cassava

Tapioca starch is an alternative to traditional wheat flours and starches. It is a popular ingredient for gluten-free recipes, especially helping to improve the structure and texture of baked goods.

It is practically tasteless and odorless, but is used to achieve a porous, light and fluffy texture in baked goods or to make crispy crusts for pies and pizzas.

What is Tapioca?

Tapioca is one of the purest forms of food starch and is a byproduct of making flour from the roots of cassava (Manihot utilissima), a woody shrub native to South America. The plant was carried by early explorers to most of the West Indies, Africa and Asia and is now cultivated worldwide. It is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, able to grow on low-nutrient soils, and is a major staple food throughout the developing world.
After the cassava plants are harvested, their roots are finely chopped, washed and dehydrated. The dried pulp is then ground into flour.

In what recipes you can use cassava starch
Cassava has a neutral flavor and strong gelling power, making it very useful as a thickener in both sweet and savory foods. Unlike corn starch, cassava starch can withstand a freeze-thaw cycle without losing its gel structure or breaking down.

Today, cassava starch is most commonly used in cooking as a crusty breading or thickener for soups and sauces, as a starch for thickening creams. Arrowroot powder is a much better cooking starch than corn starch eg. It has a superb taste, delicate texture and enhances the taste of the other ingredients in the dishes.

Tapioca is one of the most popular thickeners in cooking. It is more suitable for thickening more acidic liquids. If you plan to freeze the thickened dish, it is best to use arrowroot as a thickener. Also, in dishes with delicate, subtle aromas, use arrowroot, as it does not change the smell of the dish.

What are the useful qualities

Tapioca is primarily a carbohydrate (1 cup of tapioca = 45% of daily carbohydrate needs) and is a rich source of dietary fiber and protein, but naturally low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. It is almost completely gluten-free and thus a common ingredient in many gluten-free manufactured foods, helping to improve texture and moisture. In addition, tapioca contains B vitamins, including pantothenic acid, folate, and B6, as well as iron, manganese, calcium, copper, and selenium.

The cassava starch offered by us is characterized by high quality and purity, snow white color.

How to use Ararut root powder

Culinary purpose: For breading, as a thickener for soups, mousses, jellies, steamed dishes.

Follow the rule: For every tablespoon of wheat starch, there are 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch.

Use 3 tbsp. of powder to thicken 2 cups of liquid.
Mix the powder with an equal amount of cold water (eg 3 tbsp starch to 3 tbsp cold water), then stir the mixture into the hot liquid and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.

Tip: Coat the fruit in tapioca starch before adding it to the batter – this helps prevent it from sinking to the bottom!

Composition

Dried and finely ground Cassava root (Manihot utilissima).