Easy Chocolate Pudding Makes 4 ( 1 2-cup) servings 2 3 cup sugar 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 1 8 teaspoon salt 2 3 4 cups milk 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine 1 teaspoon vanilla extract In medium saucepan combine sugar, corn starch, cocoa, and salt. Gradually stir in milk until smooth. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in butter (or margarine) and vanilla. Pour into serving bowls. Cover; refrigerate. Easy Gravy Makes 2 cups 2 tablespoons fat drippings 2 cups broth or bouillon 2 tablespoons Argo Corn Starch 1 4 cup cold water Desired seasonings Remove all but 2 tablespoons fat drippings from roasting pan. Stir in broth (or bouillon). Cook over medium heat, stirring to loosen browned bits. Remove from heat. In small bowl stir corn starch and water until smooth; stir into pan. Add seasonings. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. 2
Lemon Meringue Pie Makes 8 servings 1 3 cups sugar, divided 1 2 cups cold water 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten Grated peel of 1 lemon 1 4 cup lemon juice 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or margarine 1 baked pie crust (9-inch) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In medium saucepan combine 1 cup sugar and corn starch. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Stir in egg yolks. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice, and butter (or margarine). Spoon hot filling into pie crust. In small bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in remaining 1 3 cup sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue evenly over hot filling, sealing to edge of crust. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on wire rack completely; refrigerate. Mandarin Hot & Sour Soup Makes 6 servings 3 dried wood ear mushrooms 1 4 to 1 3 cup rice vinegar 3 tablespoons light soy sauce 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon sugar 1 2 teaspoon white pepper 6 cups chicken broth 1 2 pound boneless lean pork, julienned 1 2 pound soft tofu, drained and diced 1 can (8 ounces) bamboo shoots, julienned 3
1 2 cup Argo Corn Starch mixed with 3 4 cup water 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 green onion, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro In small bowl, cover mushrooms in warm water and let soak for 15 minutes, or until softened; then discard the liquid. In another small bowl, combine rice vinegar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and pepper; set aside. Bring broth to a boil in large pot. Add wood ear mushrooms, seasonings, pork, tofu, and bamboo shoots. Stir corn starch mixture until smooth. Add to soup, stirring, for 3 minutes, or until soup boils and thickens. Remove soup from heat. Slowly drizzle eggs into soup, stirring gently in a circular motion until it forms short threads. Sprinkle with green onion and cilantro and serve. Raspberry Creme Brûlée Makes 6 servings Pudding: 1 3 cup sugar 1 3 teaspoon salt 2 3 4 cups milk 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 2 teaspoon grated orange peel 2 cups raspberries Topping: 1 4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon light corn syrup To make the Pudding: In heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine sugar, corn starch, and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in butter (or margarine), vanilla, and orange peel. 4
Place raspberries in shallow 8- to 9-inch round serving dish. Pour pudding over raspberries. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours, or until chilled. To make the Topping: In small saucepan combine sugar and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until light golden. Quickly drizzle over pudding. Chill 15 minutes longer. To serve, crack topping with back of spoon. Spoon pudding and raspberries into dessert dishes and top with some of the cracked sugar. Vanilla Pudding Makes 2 cups 1 3 cup sugar 1 8 teaspoon salt 2 3 4 cups milk 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 teaspoon vanilla extract In medium saucepan combine sugar, corn starch, and salt. Gradually stir in milk until smooth. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in butter (or margarine) and vanilla. Pour into serving bowls. Cover; refrigerate. Strange Facts Corn starch, a natural and odorless carbohydrate found in corn kernels, can be used as a thickener for smooth gravies, sauces, glazes, soups, stews, casseroles, pies, puddings, custards, and cake fillings. Corn starch is gluten-free, making it an ideal substitute in cooking and baking when f lour and other glutinous starches must be avoided. Corn starch can be used as spray starch for clothing, a powder to cure athlete s foot, and a substitute for baby powder or talcum powder. 5
As early as 1000 b.c.e. Egyptian Pharaohs and wealthy nobility used starch derived from various grains (not corn, which had not yet been discovered) in cosmetics and as an adhesive to hold papyrus pages together. As early as 500 b.c.e., upper-class Romans used starch to give their togas a crisp, neat look. In 1842, naturalized British citizen Thomas Kingsford discovered how to isolate starch from kernels of corn using technology he learned from a wheat starch plant in Jersey City, New Jersey. Kingsford perfected the process, making a pure laundry starch from corn. In 1846, Thomas Kingsford founded the T. Kingsford and Son company in Bergen, New Jersey, to manufacture corn starch. Two years later, the fast-growing company built the Oswego Starch Factory in Oswego, New York. In 1892, a Nebraska corn milling plant, later called Argo Manufacturing, launched Argo Corn Starch. The name Argo may refer to the constellation or to the ship made famous by the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts. The company owners may have chosen the name so that on customer price lists (printed in alphabetical order), the name Argo would appear above the name of its chief competitor at the time, Kingsford s. In 1899, Argo, Kingsford s, and two other starch companies merged to form the United Starch Company, a forerunner of the Corn Products Refining Co. While Kingsford s Corn Starch is still available in some parts of the country, Argo has become the largest selling brand of corn starch in the United States. For More Recipes Visit www.argostarch.com 6