Re: arrowroot, what is it?

While the purposes are the same, there are some differences between the the finished product when using arrowroot v cornstarch.

Arrowroot slurries and cornstarch slurries are both used to thicken sauces and gravies. They both yield a clear, glossy sauce which gives a "mouth feel" and appearance similar to a sauce containing quantities of butter.

They both require much less time than a flour-thickened sauce. They are both used as slurries, stirred into the hot liquid *off heat!*. The arrowroot slurry is merely stirred into the liquid for 30 seconds to a minute and it's ready.
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Arrowroot thickened sauces, on the other hand, freeze well in such preparations as chicken pies, and do not re-hydrolize (the word just popped out of my sub-conscious) when the pies are reheated. I have also used it for thickening chicken ala king, which I have then frozen and re-heated without any problems.

Posted by Edward Conroy to rec.food.cooking on 24 Jun 1996.