Tapioca Flour Question??

Gill Murray · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 21

I was in a place today with the opportunity to buy a box of Ener-G
Tapioca flour for $1. I figured "why not?".

I see 1/2 cup contains 42gms carbs. Does this thicken foods , like
cornstarch or arrowroot ( which I cannot find)?. if it does, how is the
comparable carb count.

Another of my possible uses is dusting a veggie before lightly
sauteeing it ( I do this with zucchini circles). Does it work OK,
without a nasty taste??

I have no idea what to do with this, but thought it might indeed be an
addition to my low-carb recipes for the T2, pacreatitis, no-carb hubby!!

TIA

Gillian

Archived from group: alt>food>diabetic

Julie Bove · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 494

"Gill Murray" wrote in message $Rg1.21218@trnddc05...
>I was in a place today with the opportunity to buy a box of Ener-G Tapioca
>flour for $1. I figured "why not?".
>
> I see 1/2 cup contains 42gms carbs. Does this thicken foods , like
> cornstarch or arrowroot ( which I cannot find)?. if it does, how is the
> comparable carb count.
>
> Another of my possible uses is dusting a veggie before lightly sauteeing
> it ( I do this with zucchini circles). Does it work OK, without a nasty
> taste??
>
> I have no idea what to do with this, but thought it might indeed be an
> addition to my low-carb recipes for the T2, pacreatitis, no-carb hubby!!

Its intent is for people who must eat a gluten free diet. It is usually
mixed with other flours like rice flour and potato flour. Yes, it can be
used for thickening but I'm not sure how well it holds up. For instance,
cornstarch tends to break down in prolonged cooking or reheating. I
generally use sweet rice flour for thickening, or instant mashed potato
flakes. Both are loaded with carbs as is the tapioca flour, but I only use
a little.

For thickening, you might try Xanthan Gum. It has far less carbs in it.

Gill Murray · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 21

Susan wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Gill Murray wrote:
>
>> I was in a place today with the opportunity to buy a box of Ener-G
>> Tapioca flour for $1. I figured "why not?".
>>
>> I see 1/2 cup contains 42gms carbs. Does this thicken foods , like
>> cornstarch or arrowroot ( which I cannot find)?. if it does, how is
>> the comparable carb count.
>>
>> Another of my possible uses is dusting a veggie before lightly
>> sauteeing it ( I do this with zucchini circles). Does it work OK,
>> without a nasty taste??
>>
>> I have no idea what to do with this, but thought it might indeed be an
>> addition to my low-carb recipes for the T2, pacreatitis, no-carb hubby!!
>>
>
>
> How do you figure 42 grams of carb per half cup works into a low carb
> plan at all?
>
> You could bread things with nutmeal, flaxmeal, parmesan cheese,
> carbquick bake mix, or thicken with guar or xanthan gums or bake mix and
> save yourself a lot of carbs.
>
> Susan

Yes, Susan,

I do use a little carb-quick to "dust", not *breaden*. We don't do that.
I usually put a tablespoon of carb-quick, and maybe a half-tablespoon of
flour,plus herbs, spices whatever. Then I can toss a couple of
zucchini, in slices, or probably 4-6 chicken thighs in it. They are
sauteed in aenough canola oil so they don't stick in the skillet.

I don't fry, and am extremely careful with what I use. That is why I
asked the question regarding the unknown substance I bought today.

Gillian
T2cook

Gill Murray · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 21

Julie Bove wrote:
> "Gill Murray" wrote in message
> $Rg1.21218@trnddc05...
>
>>I was in a place today with the opportunity to buy a box of Ener-G Tapioca
>>flour for $1. I figured "why not?".
>>
>>I see 1/2 cup contains 42gms carbs. Does this thicken foods , like
>>cornstarch or arrowroot ( which I cannot find)?. if it does, how is the
>>comparable carb count.
>>
>> Another of my possible uses is dusting a veggie before lightly sauteeing
>>it ( I do this with zucchini circles). Does it work OK, without a nasty
>>taste??
>>
>>I have no idea what to do with this, but thought it might indeed be an
>>addition to my low-carb recipes for the T2, pacreatitis, no-carb hubby!!
>
>
> Its intent is for people who must eat a gluten free diet. It is usually
> mixed with other flours like rice flour and potato flour. Yes, it can be
> used for thickening but I'm not sure how well it holds up. For instance,
> cornstarch tends to break down in prolonged cooking or reheating. I
> generally use sweet rice flour for thickening, or instant mashed potato
> flakes. Both are loaded with carbs as is the tapioca flour, but I only use
> a little.
>
> For thickening, you might try Xanthan Gum. It has far less carbs in it.
>
>
Yup, I bought that. It sat around for ages, and I finally deep-sixed it.
We tend to eat our gravy a bit runny (the way I wa raised anyway), and
use less than a tablespoon of cornstarch when I need.

Thanks for the info.

G

grammaL · Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 1

Nicky wrote:
> On Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:41:07 GMT, Gill Murray
> wrote:
>
> >I see 1/2 cup contains 42gms carbs. Does this thicken foods , like
> >cornstarch or arrowroot ( which I cannot find)?. if it does, how is the
> >comparable carb count.
>
> Sounds comparable to ordinary flour? But you'll have to do the acid
> test, give it a go and see what it does to your husband...
>
> Nicky.
> T2 dx 05/04 + underactive thyroid
> D&E, 100ug thyroxine
> Last A1c 5.6% BMI 25

(WARNING!
I am not a diabetic so I don't know much about carbs in the
following recipe, but at least it gives a good idea on how much
tapioca to thicken 1 1\2 Cups of water)

Yes. It thickens. I used to use it for then thickener in fruit pies
but that was so long ago that I don't remember how much to use. So
here is a recipe for tapioca apples which gives a place to start your
experimentation.

Title: Tapioca Apples
Categories: Desserts
Yield: 6 servings

2/3 c Sugar 1 1/2 c Water
3 tb Tapioca, quick cooking 5 c Apple slices
1/8 ts Salt

Mix all together except apples. Let stand while preparing apple
slices.
Bring tapioca mixture to full boil, stirring to prevent sticking.
Add
apples. Boil gently, covered, until apples are tender, 10-15
minutes.
Sprinkle with nutmeg or whipped cream when serving.

Nicky · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 102

On Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:41:07 GMT, Gill Murray
wrote:

>I see 1/2 cup contains 42gms carbs. Does this thicken foods , like
>cornstarch or arrowroot ( which I cannot find)?. if it does, how is the
>comparable carb count.

Sounds comparable to ordinary flour? But you'll have to do the acid
test, give it a go and see what it does to your husband...

Nicky.
T2 dx 05/04 + underactive thyroid
D&E, 100ug thyroxine
Last A1c 5.6% BMI 25

Cheri · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 93

Jackie Patti wrote in message ...

>I use corn starch for that myself. The amount of carb is just so
tiny,
>I can't see the point of the gums.

I usually use corn starch too, in small amounts as you say. I have
used Thick and Thin, but it's really about the same amount of carbs
per amount.

Cheri

Jackie Patti · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 61

Susan wrote:

> How do you figure 42 grams of carb per half cup works into a low carb
> plan at all?

If you're using a tablespoon to thicken gravy, it'd work.

I use corn starch for that myself. The amount of carb is just so tiny,
I can't see the point of the gums.

I also use a TB of regular old flour to thicken up my taco meat too.

--
http://www.ornery-geeks.org/consulting/

Alice Faber · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 25

In article ,
Susan wrote:

> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Jackie Patti wrote:
> > Susan wrote:
> >
> >> How do you figure 42 grams of carb per half cup works into a low carb
> >> plan at all?
> >
> >
> > If you're using a tablespoon to thicken gravy, it'd work.
> >
> > I use corn starch for that myself. The amount of carb is just so tiny,
> > I can't see the point of the gums.
> >
> > I also use a TB of regular old flour to thicken up my taco meat too.
> >
> >
>
> That was my point; what advantage could there possibly be from subbing
> tapioca?

Texture. Back in pre-low-carb days, the only thing I ever used tapioca
to thicken was cherry pie filling. If I were making a low(er) carb
cherry crisp (tart cherries, splenda, lemon, cinnamon), and I didn't
want to titrate the right amount of xanthan gum to thicken it without
ending up with globbiness, I might pull out a bit of tapioca. But that's
pretty much it, and I certainly wouldn't buy tapioca for this purpose.

--
"[xxx] has very definite opinions, and does not suffer fools lightly.
This, apparently, upsets the fools."
---BB cuts to the pith of a flame-fest

Gill Murray · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 21

Susan wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Jackie Patti wrote:
>
>> Susan wrote:
>>
>>> How do you figure 42 grams of carb per half cup works into a low carb
>>> plan at all?
>>
>>
>>
>> If you're using a tablespoon to thicken gravy, it'd work.
>>
>> I use corn starch for that myself. The amount of carb is just so
>> tiny, I can't see the point of the gums.
>>
>> I also use a TB of regular old flour to thicken up my taco meat too.
>>
>>
>
> That was my point; what advantage could there possibly be from subbing
> tapioca?
>
> Susan

I use a *little* cornstarch usually as a thickener. I will probably use
1 Tablespoon of flour in the turkey gravy tonight. We don't eat thick
gravies, but I like a tad of body in them.

The tapioca flour was $1 for the box, so I bought it, just to find out
how it worked.

Gillian

Julie Bove · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 494

"Susan" wrote in message @mid.individual.net...

> That was my point; what advantage could there possibly be from subbing
> tapioca?

I can't see a point unless you have a corn allergy.