Cornstarch Uses

Cornstarch is the go to product for thickening sauces and gravies, but otherwise it tends to just sit on the shelf (good thing it has a long shelf life). Have you ever wondered what else you can do with this fine white powder?

Following are some other ways that cornstarch, sometimes called cornflour, can come in handy around the house. Check out these other ways with cornstarch that make it a useful substance to have around.

Corn Starch

New Uses For Cornstarch

Use Application
Rubber Gloves   Sprinkle some cornstarch in the gloves before putting them on. You hands will slide in with ease and you’ll be able to get them off without wripping them.
Freshen Feet  Sprinkle some into your socks. The cornstarch will absorb moisture (thus controlling stinky feet) and help to prevent blisters from rubbing shoes.
De-grease Anything Spatter behind the stove? Just put some cornstarch on a cloth and rub until the mark disappears.
No time to shampoo? Just sprinkle in some cornstarch & brush to remove.
Car leaked oil in the driveway? Cover the spot in cornstarch and then sweep off in the morning.
Quiet Floors  Help a squeaky wooden floor but sprinkling a little cornstarch between the boards.
Detangle Strings   Whether you’ve got a knot in your necklace, shoelace or kite string just rub some cornstarch into the knot and watch it all come loose.
Soothe Skin  Make a paste of cornstarch & water and then put on your skin to soothe an insect bite, minor burn or sunburn.
Polish Silver   Make a paste with cornstarch & water and then use it on a cloth to polish silver. Rinse off afterwards.
Make Ornaments   Combine of 1C corn starch & 2C baking soda, then add 1 1/4C water – cook stirring constantly over medium heat, remove when thick & cover with damp towel till cool, then knead smooth.
Thicken Gravy   Of course, but be sure to add cornstarch to a cold liquid first before adding it to your pot on the stove. Adding cornstarch to a hot liquid is a hot mess of nasty clumps.

Uses for Cornstarch

If you’ve run out of cornstarch and need more to cook, check our substitution page.

Check our post on alternate uses for kitchen tools to get ideas for putting other kitchen tools to work in ways you may not have imagined.

To find out how long other foods are good for, please visit the Dairy, Drinks, Fruits, Grains, Proteins, Vegetables and Other sections of Eat By Date or use the search function below.

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