Potato Starch (Katakuriko)
What it is
Pure starch from potatoes — a fine, bright-white, slippery powder. Japanese katakuriko. Gluten-free. (Distinct from heavy, dense potato flour, which is whole cooked dried potato.)
How it's made
Raw potatoes are crushed and washed, and the starch (large-granuled) is settled out and dried.
Flavor profile
Neutral; its claim to fame is texture.
Culinary uses
A superb, lower-temperature, high-viscosity, very clear thickener for sauces and soups (favored in Japanese, Korean, and Eastern European cooking). Its standout use is as a frying coating: dredged on chicken for Japanese karaage, potato starch fries up into an exceptionally light, crisp, almost glass-like crust that stays crunchy longer than a flour coating — the large starch granules crisp without absorbing much oil. Also thickens at the end of cooking and lightens baked goods. Caveat: like other root starches it can thin with very long boiling.
Regional variations
Katakuriko in Japan (the karaage standard), widely used in Korea and Eastern/Northern Europe; in the West it's common in Passover (kosher-for-Passover) baking as a wheat substitute.
Cultural & historical context
In Japan, katakuriko originally meant starch from the katakuri (dogtooth violet) bulb — a laborious, scarce product; today the name persists but the starch is almost always from potatoes, an example of a traditional name outliving its original source.
Reference notes
Tags: `starch`, `gluten-free`, `potato`, `katakuriko`, `frying-coating`, `clear-set`. Related ingredients: [Sweet Potato Starch], [Cornstarch], [Tapioca Starch]. Related cuisines: Japanese, Korean, Eastern European, Jewish (Passover). Suggested links: → Karaage, → Starch as frying coating, → Potato flour (different product).