My son is allergic to corn, poor kid, but does like my home made puddings (which all call for cornstarch as the thickening agent). I started using arrowroot flour/powder in place of the corn starch, but it doesn't thicken as well as does the corn starch. I've read that something called agar agar sp?) can be used, but I haven't been able to locate with the ingredient or any recipes using it. Any suggestions or recipes??

Thanks! : ^)

-- Andrea Gauland, Big Flats NY (andreagee@aol.com), April 05, 2002

Answers

Have you tried tapioca flour? It works really well, and I can't remember it adding any flavor.

-- Wendy A (phillips-anteswe@pendleton.usmc.mil), April 05, 2002.

Might look at: Rice Pudding, http://www.macrobiotics.org/KitchenDessertPudding.html

Also might try searching with google, just put agar powder pudding recipes in the search box and there are a large number of sites with all sorts of recipes.

Agar is extracted from seaweed and has been used in various areas of research for many, many years.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), April 05, 2002.

Agar-agar is a vegetarian substitute for gelatin, and if you've ever seen a petri dish used in science class, agar-agar is what the experiment is growing in, lol.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), April 05, 2002.

I would try the tapioca flour possibility first... all I know about agar agar is from my penpal in Malaysia...she has sent me candy made with agar agar and it's really disgusting...it's texture is really strange. Also, I have a Malaysian recipe book which has desserts made with agar agar and the pictures look very strange...not at all like normal puddings. Probably not what you have in mind.

-- Christine (Christine_Young@Brown.edu), April 05, 2002.

Agar is used in oriental cooking, usually to make a variety of desserts. The Japanese name is kanten. Try oriental food markets. As I recall, you won't need much agar to set up your liquid: Usually 1 tsp will set up a quart of water into a solid block. If you get the block form instead of the powder form, you will need to soak the agar first. There should be instructions on the box. If you can't read it (because it's in some oriental script), try asking the sales staff at the store.

-- Paul D. (pd-personal@msn.com), April 05, 2002.

Hi, all -- thanks for the responses! So quick! :-) I was going to try another batch of pudding using tapioca tomorrow (forgot about that... have it in the pantry), and then I'll try to find the agar. My son also happens to be a vegetarian, so figuring out how to use the agar would be a good thing.

Thanks again!

-- Andrea Gauland, Big Flats NY (andreagee@aol.com), April 05, 2002.

I just bought some rice flour to try. It's supposed to work like cornstarch or flour but won't separate in the freezer.

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), April 05, 2002.

clear jel or instant clear gel is a good product for pies anD pudDIngs, i dOn't know if it available locally. It is usely sold in bulk to restaurants anD institutional feeding places.

-- randy in central missouri (rwybrant@coin.org), April 05, 2002.

I don't know how it it there, but here they frequently sell "Cornflour (made from wheat)"! Something people with wheat or gluten allergies have to be careful of. I had to learn about it - one of my sons is allergic to maize too. Check the lists of contents on packets of "cornflour" - you might find it's something different. Come to that, there's probably no real reason why you can't use ordinary wheat flour - a lot of the "cornflour" thing seems to just be "extra fine". So if you just stirred it more, or ran it through the blender before you started using it - well, it's worth trying.

I found arrowroot was OK, as was tapioca or rice starch or potato starch or fine-ground oatmeal or just about about any starch, but I tend to be an "instinct" cook - I'll add whatever until I can say "yeah, that seems about right".

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), April 06, 2002.

My husband also has celiac sprue - which is basically a condition of gluten intolerance, genetic, and probably on the order of autoimmune diseases.

You might check into powdered egg whites - yes, they're expensive, but it only takes a little.

As for rice flour, we've never had good luck with it. Pasta made from rice flour literally breaks down in the water you cook it in, and it's not very tasty...

If you do a search for flour substitutes on google.com, there's probably a lot of new stuff out there in the last few years. It's been a while since I've checked.

Because celiac sprue is becoming more and more common, I'd seriously consider having the child tested for gluten intolerance.

-- V (WraitheLadyA@yahoo.com), April 06, 2002.

Mashed potato flakes....?

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), April 06, 2002.

We often use this Eclair Custard as pudding.

In a saucepan mix 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 1/3 cup flour Stir in 2 cups milk Cook over med. heat, stirring until it boils. Boil one minute. Remove from heat. Stir half this mixture into 4 egg yolks(or 2 eggs)(beaten) Blend into remaining mixture. Bring just to the boiling point. Cool and add 2 tsp. vanilla.

This is a rather thick custard reduce flour for a softer consistency.

-- Lori Kittell (lkkittell@internetwis.com), April 08, 2002.

My understanding is that many of these allergies are actually to a mould that grows upon the grain, & not the grain itself? Ends up being the same difference of course, but have I heard right?

--->Paul

-- paul (ramblerplm@hotmail.com), April 08, 2002.

Agar agar...or just plain agar (whichever you want to call it) will work great as a replacement for gelatin. arrowroot is your best shot. Any kind of starch should work well. I do think you are wise to look at gluten. It is more common than a corn allergy and the two are often combined. :)

-- Najia (najia274@yahoo.com), April 08, 2002.

A fine thickening starch can be made from the root of the kudzu plant. i believe you mash the roots in a bucket of water (really pulverize them) then let the bucket sit overnight to settle. You then have to pour off the water and clean the starchy residue once it dries (or maybe you use repeated rinse/stirring rounds). I believe that you can also buy it at Oriental stores.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), April 08, 2002.

Paul, I wouldn't say many, but it can be true. The really bad allergy I know of is to peanuts (kills people real quick), and to the best of my knowledge that's the case there. There may be other peanut allergies, but so far as I know the killer one is to a mould which commonly grows on them.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), April 08, 2002.

How about egg? You can thicken a stove-top pudding with beaten eggs or make a baked egg custard.

-- Gayle in KY (gayleannesmith@yahoo.com), April 08, 2002.

You'll want to steer clear of Clear Jel if you have an allergy to corn - it is simply modified corn starch.

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), April 08, 2002.