Arrowroot

Arrowroot starch as it’s known in the West is refined from the roots of a West Indian plant (Maranta arundinacea). Arrowroot starch has smaller granules than potato or tapioca starches, produces a less stringy consistency, and doesn’t thin out as much on prolonged cooking. Its gelation temperature is higher than the other root starches, more like the range for cornstarch. A number of other plants and their starches are also called arrowroot in Asia and Australia (species of Tacca, Hutchenia, Canna).