Starchy taste in mousse I think? Does temperature of starch have something to do with it's taste, or does my mouth get used to it?

Hello,
yesterday I tried myself on a mango mousse to add to my Soufflé.
It's basically just Egg yolks, Milk, Sugar, Vanilla and Cornstarch combined, heated up until the starch thickens and it mixed with purreed mango. Mix with dissolved gelatin once cooled and fold in whipped cream and voilá.. something didn't go right though, otherwise i wouldn't be here!

So i left it in the fridge overnight and when I woke up excited for a taste, it has a strange initial taste. As if the starch flavor hasn't been cooked out? That's the only solution i can come up with atleast.
After a minute i tried it again and the flavor was gone entirely..

Now my question is: Can it be anything besides the starch? And does the temperature of the mousse have something with the intensity of the flavor, or do you think my mouth just got used to it and on the second spoon it didn't get picked up?

Regardless, is it safe to eat? I have no experience with starch.. :P

Sho
  • Posted by: Sho
  • February 4, 2021
  • 1960 views
  • 3 Comments

3 Comments

Lori T.
Lori T. February 4, 2021
I am fairly certain your pudding would be safe to eat, if not unpleasant due to the starchy taste and texture problem. Is it possible that you somehow managed to get a bit of dry or uncooked starch scraped into your storage dish as you transferred it from the pot to the dish? It could have been on the spoon, spatula, or the side of the pot. If the taste doesn't seem to have fully spread through the rest of the pudding, then I think that's your explanation. Taste buds and the rest of your mouth don't stop reporting the texture of uncooked starch, no matter how much you eat of it. At any rate, uncooked starch is unpleasant, but not deadly. It won't make you sick, and it will get digested just fine.
 
Sho
Sho February 4, 2021
That's weird because later I tried it again, deeper down and it again tasted like that. Though I also now remember that it tasted like that before I mixed/cooled the ingredients. Thinking back there was some semi solid mass at the bottom of the pot when I sieved the liquid. Other than that i can't really explain it.. I guess it's just a magic pot D:
 
Lori T.
Lori T. February 4, 2021
Were you stirring your mixture while it heated and thickened? Because cornstarch tends to be heavier in liquid and can sink to the bottom of your cookpot. If it wasn't stirred fairly constantly while heating, the starch on the bottom would cook and set, while leaving uncooked portions of starch nearer the top. You would need to whisk your mixture to make sure everything was evenly incorporated before the final chill, too. I think what you have is a mixture that has stratified, cooked and uncooked starches on different levels, and that is why you find it change taste. No magic pots required, though. Cooking is applied chemistry, not slight of hand.
 
Recommended by Food52

Popular on Food52