Corn starch is a familiar ingredient in the kitchen. Be it regular soup, vegetables, or while cooking some pasta you might want to make some white sauce- corn starch is a must.
Even though corn starch is familiar and available to our day-to-day life, it is more of the reason why people have more questions regarding them.
Here, we’ll point out what corn starch is, its calorie count, usage, the difference with corn flour, corn starch’s substitute, its benefits, and probable cons.
Also Read:
- Why do people eat corn starch? Is it bad for you, & more.
- Is corn starch gluten free? Why do females eat it, & more?
- What Does Eating Cornstarch Do To Your Body? – Risk & All.
Table of Contents
What is corn starch?
Corn starch is the starch that is made from the kernel of corn grain. They have some impressive structures and uses. Reigning from the kitchen of your house to the stores, this starch has more features than know.
To be more specific, they remove the protein and fiber of the corn kernel, refine it finely, and that is when we get corn starch.
And of course, you’ll find them in cans in your local grocery shops. They’re pretty easy to find.
Also read: Rye flour | Dark Rye flour– gluten free or not, substitute & more.
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Corn starch calories
Every 100 grams of corn starch contain 381 calories!
This is quite a vast amount of energy to provide. Most of this calorie comes from carbohydrates though.
Corn starch nutrition facts
To satisfy your quest, we’re going to provide the list of the nutrition facts that corn starch has to offer along with the quantities.
- Every 100 grams of corn starch provides 91.27 grams of carbohydrates. Carbs are the fuel to the human body. Not only do they help your body to work, but also they help the younger people to grow up by building their tissues up.
- A large amount of carbs that corn starch provides has no sugar at all. This is good news. There is another one, these carbs that every 100 grams of corn starch contain have 0.9 grams of dietary fibers. That means corn starch is quite diabetes-friendly as long as you’re using the right amount in the right way.
- We’ve mentioned earlier, corn starch comes from the kernel after removing the proteins. Hence, you will not get a massive amount of protein from this starch. But, there still are some. Every 100 grams of corn starch can provide 0.26 grams of protein!
- Sodium is an essential element for your kidney and blood circulation system. Also, they are responsible for keeping your blood pressure steady. Every 100 grams of corn starch contains 9 mg of sodium.
- Potassium is important for muscle health. Every 100 grams of corn starch can provide 3 mg of potassium.
- They have a small amount of fat too. Don’t worry, corn starch does not contain any trans fat at all! They have saturated fats only. And every 100 grams of corn starch contains 0.1 grams of fats. That is quite helpful for heart health.
As good as corn starch is, their usages have some variety as well. Let’s take a look.
Also read: Glutinous rice flour: nutrition, is it gluten-free? substitute, & all.
Corn starch uses
Corn starch is a common and important kitchen element. Though it is mostly known for its uses in the kitchen, it has versatile uses as well.
Let’s take a look at those uses of corn starch.
- As we mentioned already, the common use of corn starch is in foods. You too might have used it to thicken the soup you make in the kitchen. Yes, the primary use of corn starch is to cook soups.
- Making sauce, especially pasta and spaghetti sauce can be hard without using corn starch.
- Even though corn starch itself contains no sugar- you will still need it to make the perfect syrup.
- In most Chinese foods, corn starch is a must to cook.
- It has some other surprising uses as well. The paste of corn starch is helpful for skin irritations.
- If you run out of deodorant, you can use corn starch, coconut oil, and baking soda to make deodorant at home! They are super moisturizing too, you know!
- Another brilliant use of corn starch comes when you run out of dry shampoo. Yes, they act as a substitute for dry shampoo. Though it won’t work on dark-colored hair. But, if you’re blond, you can use them as a dry shampoo.
- If you’re facing a hard time ironing clothes, you can sprinkle some corn starches over the clothes before you start ironing.
- Other than skin irritations, corn starches help to relieve bug bites. You can apply corn starch paste, and to make it more effective, you can add a bit of coconut oil as well.
Bet you are surprised to learn that corn starch has a lot of uses other than being a cooking ingredient.
You might be wondering at this point about the benefits corn starch has to offer. Here we go.
Benefits of corn starch
Corn starch is common and easy to find. They have quite some surprising benefits. Let’s take a look at them.
- The fact that corn starch has a high amount of carbs helps to store more energy.
- The zero trans fat in corn starch is a good thing to count.
- We hope that you have not forgotten that corn starch is helpful for your skin. They help your skin to relieve irritations, blisters, or bug bites.
- As they are quite rich in some minerals, corn starches are bone, and muscle strengthening as well.
- They are beneficial for the growth of your kids, as the carbs they provide are massive!
Quite fascinating, right?
And then, people often ask some questions- is corn starch good for rashes? Are corn starch and corn flour the same? Well, what is the substitute for corn starch?
Don’t worry. We’ll be providing the answers to these questions in the next section.
Is corn starch and corn flour the same?
The answer is- no.
Though they are very similar as they both are made from corn kernels and both are ground powders, they are actually different still.
Corn flour is ground corn. No more, no less.
While corn starch is more refined. They are collected from the corn kernel only after removing the proteins.
So you can see, they are different.
Also read: Cornstarch vs corn flour: all you need to know to compare.
Corn starch substitute
Corn starch might be a mandatory item in your kitchen. But if you can’t find the powder inside the tin- you don’t have to freak out.
Because there are some more substitutes for this white powder and they would work exactly the same and fine.
- Corn flour is almost the same as corn starch. They look, taste, and work just the same!
- Rice flour is another amazing substitute. And guess what, in South Asian countries, rice flour is even more available and cheaper than corn starch.
- Potato starch is a great substitute for corn starch. Both are starches with similar usages. So, we guess it is completely fine.
- Arrowroot powders are good in taste, easy to use, cheap in price, and work with everything that corn starch does. A great substitute, won’t you agree?
- All-purpose flour is literally the best substitute for any sort of starch or flour. Yes, they are everything that corn starch is.
Also read: Spelt flour substitute | Is Spelt flour gluten free?
Corn starch for rash
Mix corn starch with coconut oil, and apply them to your rash. They are great for any sort of skin irritations.
And, if you are not ok with coconut oil, you can use rose water, or plain water as well.
Corn starch is moisturizing as well as cooling. They are good to treat a rash.
But, if you are allergic to corn starch, it would backfire. Stay cautious.
Probable side effects of corn starch
Nothing in this world comes flawlessly. Not even corn starch. They have some probable side effects that we need to take into account. Let’s take a look.
- Though corn starch has no sugar at all, it is high in carbs. So, too much consumption of corn starch might lead to a rise in blood sugar.
- The high carb can lead to a massive weight gain as well.
- Human skin differs from person to person. So, there are some people out there who might get allergic reactions if they apply corn starches.
So, it is better to stay cautious regardless.
So, here was the brief description and the answers to the questions regarding corn starch.
We’ll be back soon with more information regarding corn starch for you all.
In the meanwhile, stay cautious. Eat and live healthy. And if you have any questions, let us know by dropping them in the comment box below.
