A staple pantry item in most households, corn flour is primarily used in cooking. Ideally used as a binding and thickening agent, corn flour atta is one of the main requisites in preparing culinary delights such as puddings, sauces, stews and soups. You don’t have to run an errand to buy this essential. Instead, log on to BigBasket and look through the array of brands offering corn flour powder in your price range.
Popularly called as cornstarch in most of the countries abroad, this ingredient is a finely ground starch powder that is extracted from maize kernels. While the kernels provide this milled maize flour, the starch is gotten from the kernel’s endosperm. It is stored in every kitchen across the world and is tasteless and pale white in colour.
Nutritional value
When the refining process of the kernel takes place, the nutritional content is sifted through into the cornstarch or corn flour. It is a gluten-free flour that contains high amounts of iron and magnesium, which act as aids in digestion. Until the late 1850s, corn flour powder was utilised in most countries as a starching laundry ingredient. This powder, when sprinkled on tight knots, can loosen them. Even scorch marks could be removed easily using corn powder. While this completely wheat-free variant is still used in gluten-free recipes, it is majorly made use of in Italian cuisine for breading.
Precautions
It is essential to note that cold water must be added to white corn flour and made into a paste before introducing it into heated dishes. By doing this, lumping of the flour can be prevented. Avoid freezing cooked dishes that contain Ragi flour or corn starch since the freshness of the cooked item will be compromised.
Household uses
While corn flour is used handily in the kitchen to thicken most watery gravies or soups, corn flour benefits are aplenty.
• Oily, greasy stains can be tackled instantly by sprinkling this powder.
• A tiny bit of cornstarch can reduce squeakiness in wooden flooring.
• Sprinkle this powder inside shoes overnight to absorb the sweaty smell.
• When diluted with a vinegar solution, corn flour is an addictive window cleaning agent as well.
• Add this powder to omelettes to make them fluffy and light.
• A simple corn flour paste with water can leave your silver sparkling once again.
Beauty Uses
Whether it is a sunburn or a mosquito bite, corn flour uses are many when it comes to personal health, hygiene and skin care. Most baby powders use this ingredient to soothe irritable skin, which is usually milder than baby soap. While it can absorb nasty smells from shoes, this power acts as a homemade deodorant for smelly pits as well. Distress while soaking in a bath of corn flour water that leaves your skin feeling relaxed, soft and supple. Interestingly, cornstarch provides a blemish-free, flawless complexion when used regularly as a paste along with coconut oil. It is natural to feel the burns of friction on your inner thighs while exercising or during summers, dust a little cornflour powder in between the thigh and worry no more about chaffing.
With an unlimited list of uses for this ingredient, it is but natural to want to stock up on this essential ingredient. Avoid putting in the effort to visit a grocery store and instead buy this product on BigBasket!
