What is potato startch?

[DB2]

What is potato starch?  My daughter asked me about the McCormick Taco Seasoning.  There is sugar and potato starch in it.  They are listed near the bottom of the list.  I looked in my pantry and found a package that I have had for a while and the potato starch is listed second and sugar is listed near the bottom.  Should we not use this?  Does anyone have a recipe for making your own taco seasoning?

Faye

[niki]

as soon as mary sees this post,she'll give you one....but i would also say that if you check the ingredients on the different varieties,you'll find one that you can use.....niki

[niki]

that's funny,mary,that the spices you listed are the main ones i use for my soups...cumin,oregano,chilli powder,crushed red pepper......i have a question...sometimes i'm not sure if i should use chilli powder AND crushed red pepper....what do you think?...niki

[niki]

no,what i meant was wether i should use one or the other...i do sometimes, but should i?..sometimes i do,sometimes i don't ...because isn't crushed red pepper one of the ingredients in chilli powder?....niki

[niki]

you know,i had noticed that....that's why i bought chilli powder from fairway.....ok,so i will use both...thanks, mary.....niki 

[Queenie]

As always, Mary, you are a wealth of information!  Thanks so much for posting your Taco Seasoning Recipe!!  You're a doll!

Carolyn

[DB2]

Thanks Mary, packaged mixes are easier but I think homemade is almost always better.  I went and looked at the ingredients in some of my spices.  The McCormick Chili Powder has silicon dioxide (added for free flowing) listed.  I didn't know what it was so I looked it up on the internet and this is the definition given for it.
colorless transparent solid: a colorless transparent solid that melts at a very high temperature. Use: manufacture of microchips. SiO2
That doesn't sound like something I want to ingest.  I am sure it isn't much but I don't if it accumulates in the body.  I can see that I will have to be more diligent about reading the ingredients, although I don't know what a lot of those ingredients are when I read them. 
Faye

 
 

[Corky]

I mixed up and used your taco seasoning mix and it was wonderful! I was black beans, corn and salsa. It was just the right thing to jazz it up. Thank you.  Corky