arrowroot — English Dictionary

Noun

1. Maranta arundinacea from the Marantaceae family, a large perennial herb native to the Caribbean area with green leaves about 15 centimeters long.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (2)

   The East India arrowroot was considered the best; and the French West India arrowroot not so good. The East India arrowroot had the finest grains; the second finest were those from the potato; and third the tous les mois or French West India arrowroot; […]

   Arrowroots were introduced into the area in early 1983 by an elderly citizen known as Mr. Awondo, who brought it from Central Kenya where it is planted in the moist river beds. […] Arrowroots thrive where there is enough moisture in the soil for its normal growth and development.

2. Usually preceded by an attributive word: some other plant whose rhizomes are used to prepare a substance similar to arrowroot (sense 3), such as Zamia integrifolia (Florida arrowroot) or Pueraria montana var. lobata (Japanese arrowroot or kudzu).

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   Arrowroot (pia) is a member of the Tacca family. […] The ancient Hawaiians used the arrowroot (pia) as a food and as a medicine.

   More examples (1)

   The root tubers of Japanese arrowroot can be used either in fresh dried form after cooking in a manner similar to other root crops. The fresh roots are used for the extraction of starch (kudzu powder). […] Japanese arrowroot plant foliage is also a palatable fodder for farm cattle in the form of hay, pasture or silage, especially in the off season.

3. A starchy substance obtained from the rhizomes of an arrowroot plant used as a thickener.

   Usage

   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (7)

   Dr. Ifill could state, with certainty, that all the arrow-root imported into this country from Barbadoes, was made from the maranta; […] The difference in the quality of the arrow-roots imported into this country, depended on the care which had been employed in the preparation. The greater number of times the fecula was washed, the purer it would be.

   [page 396] Arrowroot is the fecula of Maran′ta arundina′cea or West Indian arrowroot; Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia; Nat. Ord. Marantaceæ; a plant, which is a native of South America and the West Indies, where it is largely cultivated in gardens and provision grounds. The tubers or roots are beaten into a pulp, stirred with cold water, removing the fibres with the hand; the milky juice is passed through a fine sieve, and the starch is allowed to subside in the strained fluid. The fecula is then washed, and dried without heat. This is the Arrowroot. […] [pages 397–398] As an aliment, arrowroot is considered to be less nutritive than wheaten starch, but more palatable and digestible. […] Boiled in water or milk, it is a very common, and favourite aliment in febrile and inflammatory affections, in chronic diseases, and in convalescence from the acute.

   The presence of potato starch in arrow root may be discovered by the microscope. Arrow root consists of regular ovoid particles of nearly equal size, whereas potato starch consists of particles of an irregular ovoid or truncated form, exceedingly irregular in their dimensions, some being so large as ¹⁄₃₀₀ of an inch, and others only ¹⁄₂₀₀₀.

   Mix to a smooth batter the arrowroot with ½ pint of the milk; put the other pint on the fire, with laurel-leaves or lemon-peel, whichever may be preferred, and let the milk steep until it is well flavoured. Then strain the milk, and add it, boiling, to the mixed arrowroot; sweeten it with sifted sugar, and let it boil, stirring it all the time, till it thickens sufficiently to come from the saucepan.

   Arrowroot is made from Zamia angustifolia in the Bahamas, etc. Under the local name of Coonti an arrowroot is prepared in Florida from the fecula of Zamia integrifolia. […] Arrowroot prepared in Queensland from Encephalartus (Zamia) spiralis was shown in 1872 at the London Exhibition.

   For food, they [ancient Hawaiians] mixed the arrowroot with coconut cream or milk (wai o ka nui), or wrapped it in tī (kī) leaves. Also they steamed the arrowroot in an imu to make the dessert haupia.

   The Hawaiian dessert most commonly encountered by visitors is haupia. At every commercial luau, a thick and stodgy pudding of cornstarch and coconut milk is cut into squares and served on pieces of green ti leaf. This version is a long way from the original. […] [T]he coconut milk should be thickened with pia, the Polynesian arrowroot. […] The most highly regarded "arrowroot" is West Indian (Maranta arundinacea); […] Haupia made with this West Indian arrowroot was indeed creamier, almost gelatinous, nothing like so solid and pasty, and with a clearer flavor than haupia made with cornstarch. It is worth seeking out arrowroot, with the caveat that you may not be getting what you expect.

4. Other plants with similar appearance or properties, such as common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)|

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

Noun

1. a nutritive starch obtained from the root of the arrowroot plant

   Broader terms

   starchamylum

2. white-flowered West Indian plant whose root yields arrowroot starch

   Synonyms

   American arrowrootobedience plantMaranta arundinaceae

   Broader terms

   maranta

3. canna grown especially for its edible rootstock from which arrowroot starch is obtained

   Synonyms

   achiraindian shotCanna indicaCanna edulis

   Broader terms

   canna