Many have asked me what is Arrowroot? I say “it’s a plant in the ocean!” To their amazement & confusion they ask what? & where?…so here is an incomplete narrative on Arrowroot. I’ve just discovered some more interesting bits of information I would like to add for your education. If you try any of these with success do come back and post about it for others to see.
You can take arrowroot and put the powder on your gums to relieve pain, teething, etc. It can be ingested for digestion and diarrhea. UTI’s. Here is where you can read all about the how to:
For your information I sent to some of you the ingredients for a fabulous deodorant made in your home using 1/2 cup arrowroot, 1/2 cup baking soda & enough coconut oil to make the consistency you like for applying this mixture to your armpits~ about 5 tablespoons. No one who has tried this in our group of friends & family, including men with very stinky B.O. love it & it works..no staining, no shirt residue nada anything negative. The point here….IT WORKS FOR EVERYONE! It’s inexpensive & well it has arrowroot in it!…
found at PassionateHomeMaking.com
At the Frontier Natural Products page on arrowroot this is what you will see on it:
Product Notes: Our product contains 100% pure starch obtained from the roots of the arrowroot plant. It does not contain gluten and is considered a “safe food” by Celiac research and support groups. It is also referred to as arrowroot flour in many recipes.
Quality Notes: Tapioca and other starches are sometimes mislabled as arrowroot. We microscopically check the structure of the starch cells of our arrowroot to insure it has not been adulterated with other starches.
Origin: St. Vincent Island
Processing Notes: Arrowroot starch is made by washing the harvested roots, grinding them into a pulp, and mixing the pulp with water. The resulting mixture is strained (to remove the fibrous material), allowed to settle, and air dried. It is then ground into a fine powder.
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At wikipedia it tells why its grown in St. Vincent which is fascinating information if you need to know more, which is my love..so if this is just too boring to you..I get it..but if not, read more about it & the next time someone asks you where arrowroot is derived…well…you’ll know!…
There is also a plant grown in tropical Florida that is referred to as Arrowroot but also known as Indian Bread Root Contie or Indian bread root, Wild sago or Florida Arrowroot a.k.a. Cree or Prairie Potato-
Indian Breadroot
Tiny blue flowers highlight this midwestern prairie plant. The tuber was an important food plant for Plains indians.
The Indian Turnip of Tennessee, Ohio Valley & the Southern Appalachians is a.k.a Jack-in-the-Pulpit and is similar to the Indian Breadroot. other common names are Bog Onion, Brown Dragon, Indian Cherries, Indian Cradle, Marsh Turnip & Pepper Turnip.
Here’s a bit of interesting information on the land arrowroot~found at this site: manataka.org
Fry Bread’s Secret Ingredient!
Timpsula: Prairie Turnip Psoralea esculenta – also known as the prairie wild turnip, Indian breadroot, and several other names. This is one of the ingredients used in our fry bread mix. The Prairie Turnip was probably the most important wild food gathered by Indians who lived on the prairies. In 1805 a Lewis and Clark expedition observed Plains Indians collecting, peeling, and frying prairie turnips.
the month of June is called tinpsila itkahca wi, meaning the moon when breadroot is ripe.
Here in Texas there are several plants related to the Prairie Turnip. Pediomelum hypogaeum, the edible Scurf-pea, is the only species that has been mentioned as “an important food source for American Indians.” It has been found throughout East Texas and into the cross-timbers and prairies west and south of Dallas. The scientific Genius name Pediomelum gets its meaning from the Greek: Pedion, meaning plain, and melo, meaning apple. The staple food of our Native Americans the “plains apple” is still around and still providing a treat for the adventurous. Our Prairie Turnip looks somewhat like an undernourished blue bonnet and can be easily overlooked. Its root however is a different story. What our “plains apple” lacks in blossom it makes up for in root. Take a good plant key with you, someone who can pump out a stomach, or a Lakota Sioux and “Bon-Appetite.” chuckle chuckle….
AND JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU ARE NOT SURE>>>>>>
here is some more confusing information about what is Arrowroot~
Arrowroot, or obedience plant (Maranta arundinacea), Bermuda arrowroot, araru, ararao, is a large perennial herb found in rainforest habitats. It is cultivated for a starch obtained from the rhizomes (rootstock), which is also called arrowroot.
and to learn a bit more on its uses & how to make it from the root read this Arrowroot
I sit here nearly two month’s later reading a book on farming in Japan. One man’s ideas of back to the old ways of farming to produce food, using natural “weeds” as food and mentions arrowroot (kudzu!)…so I had to do some homework to know more. Kudzu, the dreaded green cover in the south which strangles trees & anything in its path is known as Japanese Arrowroot one of the seven flowers of autumn.
juswingit 