cornflour
cornflour Lexical Profile
cornflour Game Scores & Validity
• noun
British A fine, powdery white starch extracted from the endosperm of maize kernels, widely used in cooking as a thickening agent for sauces, gravies, and custards.
"She whisked a spoonful of cornflour with cold water before stirring it into the simmering gravy to thicken it."
Flour finely ground from whole dried maize kernels, having a much finer texture than cornmeal and used in baking breads, pancakes, and pastries.
"The recipe calls for a blend of whole-wheat flour and yellow cornflour to give the flatbread a subtle sweetness."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British, Australian, and New Zealand English, "cornflour" refers to the pure white starch extracted from the endosperm of maize (known in North America as "cornstarch"), whereas in American English "corn flour" refers to a pale yellow flour milled from the entire dried corn kernel.