arrowroot instead of cornstarch in pastry cream?

[aidensnd2]

Just wondering if anyone has ever tried using arrowroot instead of cornstarch in pastry cream? I'm hoping that it will be more freezer friendly but have heard that using arrowroot in dairy based applications can make the finished product slimy. I'm going to give it a try but just thought I'd see if anyone here had tried it before.

Thanks in advance

[heidih]

Maybe it depends on your arrowroot source (mine was from Chinese market), but I always detect a slight metallic taste, and it does not set up as firmly which may lead to the slime factor you mentioned.

[AmritaBala]

I haven't tried arrowroot before, but I remember reading that arrowroot is used mainly in soups, when you want the broth to thicken yet stay clear at the same time, so I'm sure there's something chemically different about cornstarch and arrowroot.

I tried tapioca flour/starch in a custard pudding once and it never really set up to the piping consistency it was supposed to set up into. I had to add gelatin to it and also some lemon curd which was stabilized with gelatin.....in the end, it still didn't pipe well.

[pastrymama]

I use Patisse Hot Process Pastry Cream Powder in place of cornstarch in my regular recipe. It is just a flavored processed starch. It works well to freeze the pastry cream using this product. Here is a link to a picture of it. I purchase mine at Chefs Warehouse.

http://www.dairylandusa.com/Patisse-Zococao/Pastries.pdf

Scroll down the page to Pastry Mixes and Technical Products

Edited April 16, 2008 by pastrymama (log)

[sugarseattle]

isn't it a problem with the egg, rather than the thickener, that causes the weeping with pastry cream?

if you want to go eggless and you want to freeze and thaw, you can also try instant starch, which is a cold set product.

i find freezing regular old classic pastry cream works fine if it's in it's final destination and is in a small unit...like a little filled tartlet or a filling in a little cake. freezing a bucket of pastry cream just doesn't work for me.