# How Much Should I Add?



## Mike (Mar 16, 2021)

Corn Starch USA, Corn Flour UK, both names are the for
the same product.

I have read some recipes and watched some videos about
cooking/baking various dishes that require the above to be
added to keep the results dryish!

But how much should be used, I have yet to see an amount
stated, they all say add a little Corn ???? if you want it to be
dry.

Any suggestions please, is a teaspoon too much or too little
I know that it depends on what is being cooked, plus the
amount being used, but I can't even find a guide on how to
determine that quantity.

Thank you.

Mike.


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

cornstarch is to thicken something. without knowing what your cooking i can't really answer that.


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 16, 2021)

Unless you have made a recipe several times you will need to experiment.

Usually, they recommend one tablespoon to a cup of hot liquid for a thin sauce and two tablespoons to a cup of liquid for a thicker sauce.

Make a slurry of water and cornstarch then add a small amount to the hot liquid give it a stir and see how it looks.  If the sauce is still too thin add a little bit more until you are satisfied.  If you attempt to add dry cornstarch to the hot liquid you run the risk of having lumps in your sauce.

Good luck.


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## Lara (Mar 16, 2021)

If you were making a classic white sauce you would add 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch to 1 cup of milk, 2 Tbsp of butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

sauce isn't dryish though. not really sure what he was asking.


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## Lara (Mar 16, 2021)

So what exactly are you making Mike? Cornbread? Corn Tortillas? I never use cornstarch. It's usually for thickening gravies and sauces. However, some people use cornstarch to make lighter cakes. If your recipe is asking you to add corn to make it drier they probably mean corn flour.


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 16, 2021)

A good basic cornstarch cookie is the old-fashioned Melting Moment or Bachelor Button.

https://www.argostarch.com/Recipe/Melting_Moments






The basic recipe can be used to make a variety of small fancy cookies by using a spritz gun or rolling them in nuts or powdered sugar, thumbprints to be filled with jam, chocolate, frosting, different flavorings like almond or lemon, etc...


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

*i think aunt bea needs a cookie eating roommate lol*


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> *i think aunt bea needs a cookie eating roommate lol*


No laughing until you are stoned young lady!!!


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## hollydolly (Mar 16, 2021)

I tsp of cornflour to 2 Tablespoons of water into a cup , stir it till it's smooth, then use it in whatever dish you're making to thicken it...


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## Keesha (Mar 16, 2021)

Deleted.


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

they're not the same thing i don't think


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## hollydolly (Mar 16, 2021)

My friend mr google just called and he said....
*Corn flour*_ is a yellow powder made from finely ground, dried corn, while *cornstarch* is a fine, white powder made from the starchy part of a corn kernel. Both may go by different names depending on where you live. *Corn flour* is used similarly to other flours, whereas *cornstarch* is mainly used as a thickener._

However that's not true because the cornflour in my cupboard is fine white powder, so I think Mr Google has it the wrong way round


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> My friend mr google just called and he said....
> *Corn flour*_ is a yellow powder made from finely ground, dried corn, while *cornstarch* is a fine, white powder made from the starchy part of a corn kernel. Both may go by different names depending on where you live. *Corn flour* is used similarly to other flours, whereas *cornstarch* is mainly used as a thickener._
> 
> However that's not true because the cornflour in my cupboard is fine white powder, so I think Mr Google has it the wrong way round


 *do you use the cornflour as a thickening agent?*


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## hollydolly (Mar 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> *do you use the cornflour as a thickening agent?*


yaaa. we do...


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

flour and cornstarch are two different things. you can thicken with flour but it's my understanding the flour is for non-fatty items and the cornstarch is for fatty items. not sure if that makes sense. flour is a fine powder but it's texture is heavier than cornstarch.


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

it sounds like he's talking about this stuff...


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## hollydolly (Mar 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> it sounds like he's talking about this stuff...
> View attachment 154977


yes we don't generally have that here, I know because I've always wanted to make cornbread American style... whereas we use the fine white powdered cornflour to thicken soups, sauces and stews


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> yes we don't generally have that here, I know because I've always wanted to make cornbread American style... whereas we use the fine white powdered cornflour to thicken soups, sauces and stews


is that what he means by dryish is thickening?


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## hollydolly (Mar 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> is that what he means by dryish is thickening?


I don't know,that had me confused too... maybe means dry up the stew...less gravy 

Come back Mike, what did you mean ?


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## hollydolly (Mar 16, 2021)

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...starch/photostory/70143784.cms?picid=70143806


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

i love cornbread but i never make it for just me


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## hollydolly (Mar 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> i love cornbread but i never make it for just me


One of our  larger supermarkets started selling ita few years ago, and I was delighted by it, but it was dry and course, so I can't imagine that's how Americans have it


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## Liberty (Mar 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> i love cornbread but i never make it for just me


You can make it in the microwave:

https://www.thedailymeal.com/microwave-meal-cornbread-one


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## Mike (Mar 16, 2021)

Thank you Ladies one and all for the excellent replies and advice.

Lara I am not making anything particular, it is just something that
I am not sure about.

In the past I have made Scottish Butchers Steak Pies and if I put a
bottom crust on it, it doesn't cook because it is wet, soggy bottom,
similar has happened with an apple pie or two.

Last week I was channel surfing on the TV and came across a show
that was all about making Cornish Pasties, in a Factory, near where
I lived for many years and I knew some people, there.

During the programme when they were mixing the contents, they
included "Corn Starch", so that they didn't get a wet product, I had
missed the amount if they even gave it, but anyway, I thought that
it was a good idea, but how much to use.

Marciks, we can get that flour in our stores here too, but the one I
am asking about is the thickener, I asked google and here is the reply.

Mike.

*CORNMEAL* – *UK corn flour* is the same as *U.S. cornstarch*. Potato *flour*,
despite its name, is a *starch*, and can not be substituted for regular *flour*.
It often can be substituted for *corn starch* and vice versa. In *the U.S.*, *corn
flour* means finely ground *cornmeal*.

Questions and Answers - British Cooking Terms vs. American ...​


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 16, 2021)

Mike,
Try painting the bottom pie crust with beaten  egg white.  The egg white will help to create a moisture barrier between the crust and the filling.

Another thought is to start your pie in a hot oven, 425 F, for the first fifteen minutes and then turn back the temp to the one listed in your recipe.  The initial blast of heat will help to cook the crust.

Good luck!


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## Liberty (Mar 16, 2021)

Mike said:


> Thank you Ladies one and all for the excellent replies and advice.
> 
> Lara I am not making anything particular, it is just something that
> I am not sure about.
> ...


You can brush the pie crust with an egg wash and pre bake it at 375° or 400° until its baked - usually 8 minutes or so.  Then fill the pie and top with remaining crust .  Use  egg wash on the top crust and bake the pot pie.  Works great with any kind of  baked pies, too.


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## Lara (Mar 16, 2021)

Mike, for your Scottish Butchers Steak Pies try sprinkling coarse cornmeal (not cornflour) on the surface of the baking pan before laying your crust on it (don't put it IN the crust). That's what some pizza places do. If you turn pizza over you might see that cornmeal. That's probably for the purpose of making the crust crispy on the bottom which I think you're going for. And that might be the ingredient you said you missed.

Another thing to try is to heat the pan first before laying your crust on it so it cooks faster and thus not soggy. Pizza ovens are already hot before laying pizzas in there and those pizza bottoms aren't soggy.


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## Mike (Mar 16, 2021)

Thank you all once again, as for painting the bottom
with egg and baking it first, Aunt Bea, I know about
that with the exception as to how long it takes to bake,
thank you Liberty for that information.

Usually when I am baking anything, I put a baking sheet
in the oven to get it hot, then I put whatever it is in it's
own container on top of that and get instant heat to the
bottom, but it doesn't always work.

Lara, the Scottish Butcher's Pie was a bad example, sorry,
they don't usually have a base, unless they are small ones,
but the others do and the Forfar Bridie does this is a bit
like a Cornish pasty.

Thank you all;l for an interesting debate.

Mike.


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> One of our  larger supermarkets started selling ita few years ago, and I was delighted by it, but it was dry and course, so I can't imagine that's how Americans have it


I don't care for the box mixes much. Homemade is far better. I think it can be made moister that way. It is usually gritty. We usually have it in ham & beans.


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## Jules (Mar 16, 2021)

Yesterday I was looking in my spice cupboard and spotted the large corn starch container, obviously from Costco.  I can’t even remember the last time I uses corn starch.  It’s time to find a smaller container so I can free up some more space on the shelves.


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

Liberty said:


> You can make it in the microwave:
> 
> https://www.thedailymeal.com/microwave-meal-cornbread-one


I use my microwave for lots of things but some stuff it makes kinda tough. I'm not sure how cornbread would do in there. TY though.


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## hollydolly (Mar 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> I don't care for the box mixes much. Homemade is far better. I think it can be made moister that way. It is usually gritty. We usually have it in ham & beans.
> View attachment 154987


Oh no this one they sell is 'fresh' in the chill fridges... but it's really powdery and gritty..altho' it looks the same as in your picture 

This is it...it's quite thin, and powdery tasting


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> Oh no this one they sell is 'fresh' in the chill fridges... but it's really powdery and gritty..altho' it looks the same as in your picture
> 
> This is it...it's quite thin, and powdery tasting


yuck. that doesn't look like ours. ours is usually thicker. cornbread is naturally dry. usually we crumble it into the ham & beans. that may be why.


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

you can make cornbread stuffing too.
i've never had buttermilk cornbread but it may be more moist.


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

hmm...making myself hungry now.

i blame mike he started this. lol!


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## Liberty (Mar 16, 2021)

Basically, there are two kinds of cornbread - the northern kind and the southern kind.

The southern kind is sweeter and here in Texas we add diced green chili's to it - it adds a nice 
sharp flavor spike.  Cornbread is wonderful if its made right.  Made wrong, it makes  a pretty good 
door stop!


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## SetWave (Mar 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> hmm...making myself hungry now.
> 
> i blame mike he started this. lol!


I agree. Damnit, Mike!

By the way, Marci, I like the way you constantly change your photo. Good fun.


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## MarciKS (Mar 16, 2021)

SetWave said:


> I agree. Damnit, Mike!
> 
> By the way, Marci, I like the way you constantly change your photo. Good fun.


some of them i'm trying to resize so they fit proper. i have 2 folders of them.


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