Tapioca Starch vs Tapioca Flour

[Saboo]

I am trying to perfect my body butter recipe and I currently use corn starch to make it a little less greasy. Someone suggested to me to use Tapioca Starch that it would be better in the butter

. However, I have only been able to find Tapioca Flour at a healthfood store where I live. The lady at the healthfood store said that it is pretty much the same thing as Tapioca Starch but one of my friends says not. Being that I have never used it and I don't cook alot, I just wonder if it is the same thing.

[JacquiO]

I would not equate flour with starch. At least not for the application you want to use it for. In cooking I personally prefer thickening my gravy with flour not corn starch but I digress.

Southern Soapers carries Tapioca starch: http://southernsoapers.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=832

HTH,

J

[yoyo]

We use tapioca starch from SS. We think it works soooo much better that tapioca flour.

[blazerina]

I believe that the starch is a more broken down product. If that makes any sense. It's a finer grind and more pure.

They are essentially the same but with different compositions. I use T. flour in my bathbombs and scrubs as well, and that's because I can get it locally. And I do really like it. But I can't say that I've ever compared the two to really say if they offer the same feels or not.

I am very happy with the T. flour though.

I have found other starches such as Wheat and Potato at Asian markets. I've used them as well but have not done so enough or done any real comparrisons to say if they are as good or not. But i've also used them in my bathbombs and got great comments on the feel of skin afterward. I tend to use a lot of ingredients so I will often use a combination of these starches and flours.

[Saboo]

Thank you very much for your responses