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Arrowroot is the root of a tropical plant called "Maranta". The root, about 10 inches long, and 5 inches in diameter (25 cm x 13 cm), is white inside and covered with a thin, light-brown skin. The part of the plant that grows above ground may grow to 6 feet (180 cm), and produce creamy flowers. It is grown in Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, the Caribbean, southern China, South Africa and Southeast Asia.
You can find fresh Arrowroots in Chinese markets -- fresh Arrowroot can be cooked as you would water-chestnuts. Its most usual use, though, is as a starch.
The starch is extracted from young roots under a year old. The extraction process involves washing the roots, pounding them to a pulp, stirring the pulp in water and passing the milky liquid through a sieve. The liquid is allowed to settle, then is drained away leaving just the sediment. The sediment is then washed and drained again, and this time the sediment is allowed to dry into the starch. The starch squeaks slightly when rubbed. It keeps well if kept dry. It is odourless and largely free from taste.
It is sold as a white powder. Some boxes of what says "Arrowroot starch" may not be in fact not pure, but contain banana, rice, potatoes and other starch.
Like other root starches (such as Tapioca), the starch is tasteless and thickens more efficiently than starches that come from seeds (such as flours) or other sources. In fact, Arrowroot has twice the thickening power of wheat flour. With less needed to do the same thickening job, Arrowroot dilutes the taste of sauces less -- and even that "less" has less taste of its own. And Arrowroot thickens more rapidly because its starch gelatinizes at a lower temperature. This would make it ideal for use in dishes that can't stand up to high heat.
Arrowroot, like cornstarch, produces clearer sauces -- sauces that aren't as opaque as when flour is used. This makes it useful for a meat glaze, where the clearness is wanted. With meat gravy, however, people rather expect their gravy to have a certain solid, murky look and if you passed an opaque gravy thickened with Arrowroot you might get expressions of "who's been mucking about with the gravy?" as the gravy boat makes its rounds.
Good for fruit sauces, puddings, custards, etc. Some people feel though that it shouldn't be used in fruit pies, as it thickens long before the fruit has really started to cook. But, mixed with a bit of cold water or cold juice, it can make a great glaze over top an open-faced fruit pie.
Escoffier, the grand master of French sauces, thought that one day such root thickeners and purer starches would replace flour in French sauces, but the preference for flour, despite its being harder to work with, taking longer, and having a taste of its own, remains.
Cooking Tips
Never add Arrowroot powder straight to what you are cooking.
Dissolve 1 teaspoon of Arrowroot powder in 1/4 cup (2 oz / 60ml) of cold liquid -- usually water, but it doesn't have to be, it can be a juice, depending on what you are making. Mix it well to ensure it's all dissolved.
Equivalents
1 cup arrowroot = 6 oz / 185g
Storage
If you have fresh Arrowroot, refrigerate for up to two weeks.
History
The name "Arrowroot" may be a corruption of "aru-root", as it was called by some Indians in South America. The English name may have been reinforced by the native belief that the root was an antidote to arrow poison (as well as scorpion bits and gangrene.)
Also called:  Arrowhead
Chinese Potato
Goo Maranta arundinacea (Scientific Name) Pfeilwurz (German)
See Also
Tapioca
Other entries for Arrowroot
Arrowroot
Other entries for Thickeners
Alginic Acid, Carrageen, Cassava Flour, Clear Jel, Gelatin, Genugel, Guar Gum, Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Lotus Root Flour, Marshmallow Powder, Panade, Pectin, Roux, Tapioca, Xanthan Gum
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