Is tapioca flour tapioca starch?

Cassava flour is a common nutritious food in our daily diet. Cassava flour can be made into various delicacies and sweets. It is rich in nutritional value and tastes very good. However, cassava flour and cassava starch are different. There is a big difference between the two. Generally, the production processes of cassava flour and cassava starch are different. Cassava flour cannot be eaten raw and contains slight toxins, while cassava starch can be eaten directly after processing.

Is tapioca flour tapioca starch?

1. Different manufacturing processes

Cassava flour: It is the powdery granules obtained by peeling, crushing and drying the cassava, or it is the powdery granules obtained by peeling, drying and crushing the cassava. It is generally produced by family workshops.

Cassava starch: It is the starch obtained through the entire production line. The processing technology is relatively complicated, including peeling, cleaning, crushing, screening, filtering, concentration, dehydration, drying, screening, etc. The fine, high-quality powder particles obtained are generally produced by industrial production lines.

2. Different uses

Cassava flour: Cassava flour is generally powdery granules. When added with water and heated and cooked, it will become transparent and chewy. Cassava flour is often used in food processing, such as dessert dumplings, puddings or crystal dumplings.

Cassava starch: Cassava starch is in a fine powder form and will not clump when heated with water. Cassava starch is generally used as a condiment in daily life. When cooking or making soup, cassava starch will help to absorb the juice. When frying some foods, you can also wrap cassava starch on the outer layer of the ingredients, which will make the fried food more crispy.

3. There is a difference between raw and cooked

Cassava flour: Cassava flour is roughly processed, which relatively retains the toxicity of cassava, so cassava flour cannot be eaten raw. The hydrogen cyanide it contains can be harmful to health.

Cassava starch: Cassava starch is finely processed, and the toxic substances present in cassava are removed during the processing. Therefore, tapioca flour cannot be eaten raw but tapioca starch can be used directly.

Is cassava flour the same as tapioca starch? What can I use instead of cassava flour?

What can I use as a substitute for tapioca flour?

There are many things that can replace tapioca flour, but different things should be chosen for different uses.

Cornstarch as a substitute for tapioca flour

Cornstarch is also a kind of starch that is often consumed in daily life. This starch is a refined starch. Its raw materials are corn, wheat, etc. After removing protein, cellulose, fat and other substances, only starch is left. Therefore, this starch is relatively stable and can completely replace tapioca flour. Whether it is used to make taro balls or dough, it also has the characteristic of being chewy.

Sweet potato flour as a substitute for tapioca flour

One of the main ingredients of Taiwanese taro balls is tapioca starch. It is not only used for its elasticity, but also for its crystal clear purity after being steamed. Sweet potato starch is gray in color after being steamed and does not have the luster of tapioca starch, so it cannot be replaced. If you are making glutinous rice balls and only need its elasticity, it can be replaced.

Potato flour as a substitute for tapioca flour

Potato flour is a starch powder product extracted from potatoes after fine processing. The starch content in this powder is also very high, but like sweet potatoes, it will have color after cooking. Potato flour appears white after processing and is opaque. It cannot be replaced by cassava flour in many applications that require the transparent effect of cassava flour, such as crystal glue. But it can be used as a substitute when making Taiwanese taro balls.

Flour Substitute for Tapioca

Flour also has a certain elasticity when making dough, and can be used to make the outer skin of dumplings and buns. When making dough and pastries with cassava flour, you can add appropriate amount of flour. If you do not pursue the transparency and elasticity given by cassava flour, you can replace it all with flour.