Best Corn Flour Brands in India – Thickening Made Easy

Cornflour is a commonly used kitchen ingredient to thicken soups, sauces, and gravies. This is made using the starch obtained from the endosperm of the corn grain. Cornflour is dusted on vegetables, paneer or chicken before deep frying to achieve that perfect crispiness, especially while cooking desi-Chinese meals.

We tested four popular brands of cornflour for their thickening capabilities. After using it to thicken homemade vegetable soup, we chose Brown and Polson as the best corn flour brands in India (Top Pick) for thickening your soups and gravies. We also recommend Tops Cornflour. Why did we choose these brands as our winners? Why did the other two brands not win? Here are the details.

Did you know? Cornflour is also known as cornstarch in a few countries. This is not to be confused with cornmeal which is what we call makki ka atta in Hindi.

From their availability to the sizes, price, shelf life, and packaging. Here is all that you need to know about the best cornflour brands in India.

1. Reviewed Brands

We reviewed four readily available brands in India –

Tops
Weikfield
Blue Bird
Brown And Polson.

2. Available Sizes

Cornflour for domestic usage is available in two sizes –

100 gms
500 gms

3. Price Range

On an average, a 100 gm carton of cornflour is priced between Rs 25/- to Rs 30/-.

4. Packaging

Cornflour usually comes in sealed pouch packaging which may or may not be further packaged in a carton.

5. Shelf Life

The shelf life of cornflour usually ranges between 18-24 months. It differs from brand to brand, so make sure you check the label for the expiry date before purchasing.

6. Recipe Options

Cornflour is majorly used in two ways – as a thickening agent and as breading for deep-fried foods. This is also used to make puddings, custards and other desserts.

7. Availability

All of these brands are available in local grocery stores and a few online portals as well.

2. Available Sizes

Cornflour for domestic usage is available in two sizes – 

• 100 gms
• 500 gms

Here is a table comparing the four different corn flour brands available in India: 

For this review, we set two main parameters that helped us choose the best cornflour brands-

1.Thickening Ability

Cornflour is widely used for two purposes – as a thickening or binding agent and as a breading or coating before deep frying. We tested the cornflour brands for their thickening ability. How quickly can the cornflour thicken the soup, sauce, or gravy? How much cornflour does it take to thicken a bowl of homemade soup?

2. Aftertaste

A good brand of cornflour should NOT affect the flavor of the dish. Which is why it is important to know if the dish made using cornflour has an aftertaste?

Who Is This Review For?

This review is for everyone who uses cornflour on a regular basis to thicken soups, sauces, and gravies. This review is not meant for those looking to use cornflour as a coating or breading. We have not checked these brands for their ‘coating’ abilities or as a breading for deep-fried foods in this review.

Which Brands Did We Pick And Why?

We picked brands that were easily available online and offline. We did not pick brands that were specific to that one particular supermarket. These are all vegetarian products. The four brands that made the cut for their review are – 

• Tops
• Blue Bird
• Weikfield
• Brown And Polson

Our Review Process

To test the different brands of cornflour, we used it to make veggie soup. 

For that, we first make a basic stock with carrots, potatoes, bottle gourd, bay leaves, peppercorns, and cloves. After cooking it for an hour, we drained all the veggies and used the stock as a base.

Post this we made the cornflour slurries. A slurry is a mix of water and cornflour which can be added to the gravy/soup for thickening. To make the slurry we combined 1 Tbsp of cornflour in 20 ml water and mixed it well. After this, we made the soup.

For our soup, we sautéed some chopped onions in butter and added veggies like beans, mushrooms, carrots, and sweet corn. To this, we added  1 cup of the pre-made stock and the cornflour slurry. Salt and pepper were added to taste.

The quantity of cornflour slurry added and the quantity of the soup was exactly the same for all brands. This helped us gauge the thickening abilities of each cornflour brand using the same amount. After checking which brand thickens the soup most effectively and quickly by following the same procedure and recipe, we moved forward to test it for any residual taste.

We tasted all the soups to check if any of the cornflour brands lent an aftertaste to the soup. As the soup was very delicately seasoned, any possible aftertaste of the cornflour was easily detected.

Brown & Polson is a brand popular for manufacturing custard powder and cornflour. A 500 gm box of Brown & Polson Cornflour is priced at Rs 77/. The shelf life is 23 months. Recipes for pista kulfi and chicken lajawab are given on the pack.

Brown & Polson thickened the soup the quickest. This happened despite not using heaped tablespoons (as mentioned on the pack). Even after getting cold, the soup did not become a gelatinous mass, but it helped the soup become more full-bodied.

Moreover, the soup with the Brown & Polson Cornflour did not have any aftertaste at all. No lumps formed in the soup.

Tops Cornflour comes in a  carton packaging. A 500 gm pack is priced at Rs 80/-. The shelf life of Tops Cornflour is 18 months. Recipes for vegetable stew and tempura are given at the back of the pack.

Soup made using Tops cornflour thickened very quickly as well. There is no aftertaste and we liked that the soup did not become gloopy even after cooling down. 

A 100 gm pack of Blue Bird Cornflour is priced at Rs 27/-. The shelf life is 24 months. A recipe for spinach soup is given on the pack. 

Blue Bird cleared round one, where we tested these brands for thickening abilities, pretty smoothly. The problem arose when we tasted the soup made using this cornflour. The soup had a certain aftertaste that is not desirable.

Weikfield Cornflour comes in box packaging. A 100 gm box is priced at Rs 27/-. The shelf life is 24 months.

Despite adding the same quantity as all other contenders, Weikfield’s cornflour did not thicken the soup well. Usually, cornflour-rich soups thicken very quickly and sometimes even become jelly-like after cooking down (though this is not a desirable quality), but even after 10 minutes, the consistency of the soup was quite watery.

Even though there is no aftertaste, the fact that it did not thicken the soup to the desired consistency, made Weikfield not emerge as a top choice.

Why did we choose Brown And Polson as our Top Pick?

We chose Brown And Polson as the best cornflour brand in India to thicken soups and gravies because it thickened our bowl of soup the quickest. No lumps were formed, the consistency was just right and there was no aftertaste. We also liked the fact that the soup did not become gelatinous after cooling down. 

Why do we also recommend Tops Cornflour? 

We also recommend Tops Cornflour because it also thickened our soup quickly and efficiently. It does not have an aftertaste or doesn’t become gloopy after cooling down.

Here are some interesting FAQs on corn flour brands in India.

Brown And Polson emerged as our Top Pick in the cornflour review because of multiple reasons. Not only did it thicken the soup most efficiently, but it also has no aftertaste. The soup turned out with the perfect consistency. Tops Cornflour is Also Recommended and emerged as a good pick for making soups and gravies.

Do you use cornflour extensively in your kitchen? If yes, are there any particular recipes that just cannot do without some cornflour? Let us know in the comment section below.

Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.