Usually we cook at home and use all kinds of spices. Raw flour and starch are kitchen supplies that we often use in cooking, which are mainly used for making soup, thickening and curing. Many people think that raw flour and starch are the same thing, but they are called differently in different places. Is starch the same as raw flour? The answer is obvious. They are different in name and concept. Although there is only one word difference between raw flour and starch, the difference and use are completely different. Don't use it wrong when cooking, or it will affect the taste of the dish. Let me tell you the difference between these two materials. As long as you know, you can also be a chef.

The raw materials of starch and raw flour are different.

The raw material of starch is sweet potato, kudzu root, cassava and other potato ingredients with high polysaccharide content, which is processed powder. Raw flour is generally made of corn or potatoes, and it is unprocessed raw material powder. If you pay attention, you will find that the instructions on the raw flour packaging bag generally say ingredients, some of which are corn starch or potato starch, which is also called too white because of its particularly white color.

Simply put, raw flour is starch, but starch is not necessarily raw flour. Starch is a general term, and raw flour can only replace part of it (such as corn starch and white powder). Other starches, such as mung bean starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, pea starch, broad bean starch, Gordon Euryale seed starch and water chestnut starch, cannot be replaced by raw flour.

Because of the different structure, it is basically impossible to release raw powder once it is caked after heating. After heating, starch can also be dispersed with water and oil. For example, if the thicken is very thick, it can be melted with water, but it is impossible to make flour.

Starch and raw flour have different uses.

Raw flour is fine and weak in viscosity; On the other hand, starch is coarser and more viscous. Therefore, according to these characteristics, the uses of starch and raw flour are different.

(1) Thickening

Corn starch is usually used for thickening, that is, raw flour. For example, it is mainly used to make fish-flavored shredded pork, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, fried shredded pork, boiled pork slices and so on. The purpose of thickening is to thicken the soup, just to lock the nutrition and taste of the dishes and make the food have a smooth taste. Corn starch can also be added to flour to make various cakes, such as: corn husk, snow-mei Niang, milk cube and so on.

(2) Stir the batter and hang it up.

Generally speaking, food is wrapped with starch before frying. The purpose is to lock the delicate flavor of the food itself, and the second is to make the taste of the food more crisp. Because cassava starch and sweet potato starch have coarse particles and strong water absorption, the fried food is drier, without extra moist feeling, and the skin is more brittle. Mostly used for hanging paste, such as fried crispy meat, fried lotus root box, sweet and sour fish, etc. The fried crispy meat will be crisper and cooler. Sweet potato starch is mainly used for frying Chinese dim sum, vermicelli and vermicelli.

(3) curing

We usually marinate the meat before frying it to make it tender. In fact, raw flour (corn starch) should be used at this time, which can not only ensure the smoothness of the meat, prevent the meat pieces from sticking together, but also achieve the purpose of locking the nutrition and umami of the meat and making the fried meat more tender and smooth. The main ingredient of tender meat powder sold in the market is raw flour (corn starch), but I think it is safer to use raw flour.

(4) Soup and jelly

If we usually want to thicken the soup, we usually thicken it with some starch, that is, water starch, and then pour it into the pot, and the soup in the pot will become sticky. Although starch is insoluble in cold water, it becomes paste after heating, so it can thicken the soup. Raw flour is not as absorbent as starch, and it becomes sticky when it meets water, so raw flour can't be used to make soup.

Different dishes use different powders. Don't confuse them. If you make a mistake, it's easy to "ruin the dish". Do you feel suddenly enlightened after reading the above analysis? Although there is a word difference between raw flour and starch, the difference and use are completely different. If you know that you are also a chef, the dishes you make will be more delicious.