Corn Flour vs. Corn Starch: The Similarities And Differences

Is Corn Flour The Same as Corn Starch?

There are thousands of people who have this query ‘is corn flour the same as corn starch?’ so I will give you the answer today.

Corn starch is widely used in food preparation for thickening of sauces and making gravies. It is flavorless and pure starch as such. On the other hand, corn flour is the finely grounded cornmeal to prepare muffins, bread and cookie recipes.

Well, both are different and the use of corn flour or corn starch is dependent on the type of texture or consistency you want. If you are involved in a gluten free baking and thus wish for a light texture, go for corn starch. For a dense texture, you can use corn flour. Well, you need denser texture when you make muffins, corn bread and cookies. Corn flour is the finer version of cornmeal.

In the US, corn starch is pretty much coarse and grounded maize while the corn flour is finely grounded. Corn starch acts as the thickener which is made from maize starch in the refined form. Quick breads are actually corn starch and flat breads such as tortillas are the corn flour. In fact, corn starch is used in the gravies and pies as the thickener.

Well, it gets more confusing when you move out of US and head towards England where corn starch is mostly labeled as corn flour. If you buy an item which is labeled both as corn starch and corn flour, it will not bake your items well. In many places, corn flour is the same as cornstarch where corn flour is the most commonly used term in the US. Corn starch is used commonly in the North America.

You need to keep in mind that Flour prepared from corn or maize is not same as corn flour. In the United Kingdom, ‘Corn’ is something known as ‘wheat’. Corn Flour is prepared from white or blue or yellow corns. Corn Flour may be used to make breads and is utilized for making different kinds of baked foods where it is usually blended with various kinds of flours.

On the other hand, cornstarch is used as a thickener in making pies and gravies. You may make pies, different kinds of sauces with the cornstarch. In the corn, the endosperm is the largest element of the kernel of the corn. Since cornstarch is gluten free, people use it in their diet when wanting to avoid the protein food.

Check below video for more differences between cornstarch and corn flour​:

When you talk of corn flour and corn starch, they are different in their usages. Corn flour is used to make tacos, nachos and is also meant to prepare batter for the chicken and other fried beans.

Well, cornstarch is the type of thickening agent that may be used in gravies, soups to prepare the stock thicker or make the broth. Those who need flour for making cookies, baking cakes, they need the all-purpose flour.

Since both corn flour and cornstarch are gluten free, they are not used in the preparation. Corn flour, made from the blue and yellow corn, is used for bread preparation. You can also use corn flour for baking other items where the flour is just blended with other kinds of flours. Endosperm is the largest portion of the corn kernel. Corn starch is the starch from corn, as the name suggests. Use it as a gravy thickener or for making fruit pies, etc.

According to some, cornstarch is different from corn flour as per the content.

When you talk of corn flour, it is actually the kernel of the corn which is entirely milled and prepared into flour. Thus, corn flour is the rich source of fat and protein. On the other hand, cornstarch is just the starch of the corn. Starch, derived from the cornflour, is chemically separated from protein and fat. So, if you want to consume a gluten free diet, you can use corn starch and not the corn flour.

The terms corn flour and corn starch are used interchangeably. We can say that the differences are very subtle such that many people do not even consider it.

If you are wondering, is corn flour the same as corn starch, you need to know that they are much similar. In fact, the starch of the corn is termed as cornstarch in the US and corn flour in the UK. So, in terms of terminology, they are different.

However, if you talk in terms of American terminology, then they are different. Cornflour is the grounded corn and is the polenta essentially. In Chinese cooking, cornstarch is used widely for it is the thickening agent. A British person will commit the mistake if he buys corn flour thinking it to be cornstarch in America.