Dimitri wrote:

>
> "Lenona" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Pudding" in the American sense of the word, that is.
>>
>> I tried a simple, eggless chocolate pudding cooked with flour and it
>> seemed to work just as well as cornstarch. Since flour is cheaper,
>> what's the advantage of cornstarch?
>>
>> However, vanilla pudding (the same recipe, minus the cocoa) always
>> burns no matter how careful I am, so I assume using flour wouldn't
>> help.
>>
>
> Read he http://www.foodsubs.com/ThickenStarch.html
>
> Flour will leave a starchy taste (unless cooked for an extended period)
> and an opaque result, corn starch does not have the starchy taste and
> the thickened product is clearer than using flour - also the "sheen'
> appearance is different.
>
>

You're on the right track, but I would add that
your standard pastry cream recipe is flour thickened
and I've never detected a starchy taste to it after all
the many times I've made it. I'd even say I like it better
than corn starch thickened preparations. This is one
of the many cases where tasting trumps reading.

--
Reg