# Potato starch =? potato starch flour **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 11, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-starch-potato-starch-flour/307873 "2005-06-11T18:01:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-starch-potato-starch-flour/307873/1 "2005-06-11T18:01:14Z")
[This](http://shop.store.yahoo.com/southnatural/20607.html) is wildly available at my local natural food store. For recipe purposes, is it the same as “potato starch”? ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-starch-potato-starch-flour/307873/2 "2005-06-11T18:32:53Z")
Accoding to _Penguin Companion Food_ (otherwise known as the "Oxford Companion to Food [Hardback version]) the two products are \*\*not \*\* the same: **Potato Flour** - cooking, drying and grinding potatoes results in potato flour. This can be used as a substitute for potatoes or directly in potato based breads. **Potato Starch** - made by extracting the starch using a washing process, which is used as a thickener. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-starch-potato-starch-flour/307873/3 "2005-06-11T19:30:36Z")
Well, dammit. That teaches me to ignore Google. From [here](http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cooking/msg0517031530426.html), I get > [@Cook's Thesaurus](#): > > potato starch = potato flour = potato starch flour = katakuriko However, [this](http://www.foodchoices.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=193) contradicts that, saying that potato starch is [/QUOTE] Also known as potato starch flour, this is another must for gluten-free pantries. NOT the same as potato flour. [/quote] I get > [@](#): > > Potato starch is potato starch flour, it is very fine white powder that is excellent for baking when combined with other flours. Potato flour is not and cannot be substituted for potato starch flour. from [here](http://www.bulkfoods.com/substitutions.htm), so maybe there’s a trend? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-starch-potato-starch-flour/307873/4 "2005-06-11T19:32:27Z")
> [@Waterman](#): > > Accoding to _Penguin Companion Food_ (otherwise known as the "Oxford Companion to Food [Hardback version]) the two products are \*\*not \*\* the same: > > **Potato Flour** - cooking, drying and grinding potatoes results in potato flour. This can be used as a substitute for potatoes or directly in potato based breads. > > **Potato Starch** - made by extracting the starch using a washing process, which is used as a thickener. Right, but this is “Potato Starch Flour”. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-starch-potato-starch-flour/307873/5 "2005-06-12T08:37:28Z")
Semantics aside, they are two separate products as the processes are different. Don’t know what else that can be stated. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-starch-potato-starch-flour/307873/6 "2005-06-12T12:17:56Z")
> [@Waterman](#): > > Semantics aside, they are two separate products as the processes are different. > > Don’t know what else that can be stated. Whether anything else can be stated or not, you appear to remain incorrect. Potato starch **is** identical to potato starch flour (which is what the OP asked), but **is not** the same as potato flour. According to [this](http://www.ener-g.com/Faq/productfaq.aspx#7), [this](http://www.missroben.com/id1148.html), [this](http://www.foodchoices.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=166&products_id=193), [this](http://www.baking911.com/pantry/flour,grains.htm), and [this](http://www.bulkfoods.com/substitutions.htm). I can’t find a single link that states that potato starch and potato starch flour are different products. On the other hand, neither of them are the same as potato flour, and other than that mistaken Cook’s Thesaurus link that chaoticdonkey found, I can’t find a single site claiming that they are the same. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-starch-potato-starch-flour/307873/7 "2005-06-12T15:44:44Z")
> [@DMC](#): > > Whether anything else can be stated or not, you appear to remain incorrect. > … > > I can’t find a single link that states that potato starch and potato starch flour are different products. On the other hand, neither of them are the same as potato flour, and other than that mistaken Cook’s Thesaurus link that chaoticdonkey found, I can’t find a single site claiming that they are the same. My response was to the mistaken Cook’s Thesaurus link and I was merely trying to point out that “potato starch” and “potato flour” are two different products. I do note that similar confusion exists with other agricultural products as I found reference to “wheat starch flour”, which is supposedly different than “wheat flour”. At this point the addition of the word “flour” to the processed starch component descriptions must have some other meaning besides the conventional definition of “flour” (perhaps to the degree of fineness used in milling the particular product?)