Extraction of Arrowroot powder
1. Harvest the roots, separating from stem, and remove excess soil.
Fresh Arrowroot after about 1 week out of the ground
2. Wash the roots well and remove the fibrous covering either with a peeler or a knife. The outer skin is removed to avoid discoloration and bitterness in the final product.
Peeled Arrowroot
3. Next I used a food processor with a spinning grater blade, but you could grate it by hand or even crush roots with a hammer!
4. This product is placed into a big bowl of water and stirred, agitated and massaged to release all the starches.
Grated Arrowroot Soaking in Water
5. Then pass the mixture through sieve or colander so that the bigger particles are removed. Be sure to squeeze out every last drop and then discard of the grated arrowroot. The remaining water collected after separating out the particles will be milky with an abundance of arrowroot starches in it. Leave this solution overnight taking care not to disturb.
Squeezing out grated arrowroot
6. The starchy essence of the arrowroot will settle at the bottom of the bowl, with the water above the powder. This water should be removed and discarded, leaving only the powder remaining. At this stage the powder is not in a very pure form, and so this step is repeated.
Starches Settling on The Bottom of the Bowl
7. Water is again added to the powder, stirred and left to settle for another 12 hours. After this, the water should be removed and powder should be kept. This process of adding water, stirring and separating the powder, is repeated 4 times.
One of the bowls with the water discarded showing the remaining arrowroot powder
8. The final powder turns out as a fine, soft and of sparkling white color. Powder should be dried well for eliminating all water content. This can be done in a food dehydrator or by keeping in sun for 2 days. At this stage a fine arrowroot powder will be obtained.
Arrowroot powder produced in this manner should never spoil. I tend to use these things quite quickly, but a little research leads me to believe it can be kept for many years.
Namaste,
The Jolly King
