Description

Arrowroot is typically a tropical root vegetable cultivated in Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, South China, South East Asia, but is a native to West Indies. It varies in size, averaging 8-25 cm in length and 10-13 cm in diameter. In terms of its physical structure, it is conical in shape, with slight tapering at the end, and hence draws its resemblance from carrot, and is white to purplish colour. It has a thin brown sheet skin, and underneath that, the flesh is ivory to white in colour and is firm, dense, smooth and aqueous, just like raw potatoes. It is juicy and mildly sweet in flavour when consumed raw. It is has a remarkable use in the culinary world, where it is used in the powdered form as a thickening agent.  It belongs to the Marantaceae family of plant and is used as a healthier replacement for cornflour, as it has a look and texture similar to cornflour and is also gluten-free, hence is quite popular in the recent world due to the very emergence of celiac disease, a disorder in which the small intestine is damaged because of the inflammation caused by very consumption of gluten. It is available in the late fall through early spring. It’s been said that the Arwark Indian called it Arrowroot because it was used to draw out poison from people wounded by poisoned arrow. The tribal people called it Aru-Aru and followed a very laborious practice of extracting powder from its root. In India, it is known as Kooya.

Health benefits

• Safe for infants: As it is already known that it has a starchy and mild flavour, hence it happens to be a safe ingredient in baby food, including teething cookies for infants. It is ideally a gum soothing food and poses little to no food allergies.⁽¹⁾
• Fights salmonella virus: It has the potential to fight foodborne pathogens like salmonella, thus build a defence system to fight against diseases and disorders.⁽¹⁾
• Treats Athlete’s foot: this is caused by fungus, hence if it is applied in the infected area the very infection can be treated.⁽¹⁾
• As it is rich in dietary fibre, it alleviates vomiting, nausea, and diarrhoea. And is a stomach soother.⁽²⁾

Selection Guide

Always buy the one that is white and fine in texture, similar to cornstarch. One way to test if it is in the usable condition is to mix with water, if it gives an awful odour, it indicates that it is spoilt.