Walk into any Indian kirana store and ask for corn flour. You will usually get a small pack of very white, squeaky powder for thickening soups and coating gobi manchurian. That powder is cornstarch. Ask a roti maker for corn flour and you get makki atta, which is yellow, a little coarse, and tastes like maize. Ask a snack factory, and they mean something else again. Same word, three products. For home cooks this is a small annoyance. For a food business buying by the tonne it is an expensive mistake. Here is corn flour vs cornstarch explained: how the products differ and how to order the right one. Corn flour vs cornstarch: the short answer Product What it is Colour and feel Main uses Cornstarch (often sold as “cornflour” in India and the UK) Pure starch extracted from maize by wet milling Bright white, very fine, squeaks when pressed Thickening, coating, custard powder, industrial binding Corn flour / maize flour Maize (usually degermed) ground into fine flour Pale yellow to cream, soft Bakery premixes, batters, snacks, binders Makki atta Maize flour as used for makki di roti; often whole grain, sometimes degermed Yellow, slightly coarser, earthy taste Rotis, traditional foods, retail atta packs Corn meal Coarser grind than flour Yellow, gritty Coatings, breads, snacks, pet food What is cornstarch? Cornstarch comes from wet milling. The maize is soaked, the germ, fibre and protein are separated out, and what remains is almost pure starch. It has very little taste and no colour. It thickens sauces when heated and gives a crisp coat when fried. Because it is only starch, it has very little protein, fibre or fat. In India and the UK the retail name for this is often “cornflour”. In the US it is called cornstarch. That is the root of most confusion. What is corn flour (maize flour)? Corn flour, in the trade sense, is maize ground into a fine flour. It comes from dry milling: the maize is cleaned, usually degermed, and the endosperm is milled fine. Nothing is extracted, so it keeps the grain’s natural colour, flavour, protein and some fibre. That makes it behave very differently from cornstarch. It does not thicken a sauce into a clear gel. It gives body, colour, a mild corn flavour and good binding. Bakery premixes, batters, coatings, extruded snacks and some namkeen use it for exactly that reason. What is makki atta? Makki atta is the household name for maize flour used to make makki di roti and similar foods in Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal and other states. Traditional makki atta is often stone-ground from whole maize, so it carries more germ and fibre. That gives it more flavour but a shorter shelf life, because germ oil turns stale. Commercial makki atta packs vary. Some use whole grain, some use degermed maize for a longer shelf life. If you are a brand buying maize flour to pack as makki atta, decide which style you want and tell your mill. Where does corn meal fit? Corn meal is a coarser grind than flour, and finer than grits. Think of it as the middle of the ladder: grits, then meal, then flour. It is used in coatings, cornbread-style bakery, some snacks and pet food. If your product needs a bit of grit and crunch, corn meal is usually the answer. See our corn meal page for bulk supply. How to tell them apart at a glance Ordering in bulk: say what you mean When you send an enquiry to a mill, avoid just writing “corn flour”. Instead: This one step saves weeks of back and forth and the cost of a rejected load. Buying corn flour from Supriya Corn Products We make dry-milled corn flour and maize flour, not cornstarch. Our mill at Chegur, near Hyderabad, has processed maize since 1986, with Bühler milling equipment and batch-wise quality checks. We supply bakeries, snack makers, FMCG brands and food processors in 25 kg and 50 kg bags, with jumbo bags on request. If you need corn flour for bakery, snacks or binding, see our page for corn flour manufacturer in India and send your requirement. If you need a coarser product, our guide to types of corn grits explains the options. Frequently asked questions
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