Other Starches

In the first edition of Le Guide Culinaire, published at the turn of the twentieth century, Escoffier predicted that the traditional roux-thickened sauces would be replaced with sauces thickened with purer forms of starch such as arrowroot, potato starch, cornstarch, and especially tapioca starch. Using these starches would eliminate the need for the careful skimming necessary to rid flour-thickened sauces of impurities. He was correct in predicting the demise of flour-thickened sauces, but incorrect in assuming that other starches would be used to fill the gap.