<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Thankyou to those people who replied to my question about kudzu root starch. This is what I found out: Kudzu is used as a thickener. It is edible, but like all other thickeners I know of it is pretty tasteless. It's from a vine (imported from the orient) that grows rampant in the South and has become a very noxious weed. It is a legume. You can also use it as a gelatin substitute. Kudzu grows wild by the roadsides in the South. It was cultivated (from some other country) years ago and grown to hold the soil and prevent erosion. Since then, it's evident you can't stop the stuff! My father-in-law detests it (in Georgia) and he cannot believe we cook with it!! As far as I know kudzu is used in macrobiotic cooking to thicken things and is therefore edible. It comes in white rock-like pellets I don't know...but will it take over your kitchen? ............ in Tulsa where they discovered kudzu growing along the river bike trail last summer. I know it is an asian starch and used for thickening. I have never heard it used in any other way. It is a plant that is in fact, a pest...it takes over and chokes our streams and rivers, growing as much as a foot a day. Kudzu is a perennial vine. The roots are used in Chinese Traditional medicine for treatment of many circulatory problems, high blood pressure, dysentery, colitis, allergies, and diarrhea. The starch of the roots can be used as a thickener, similar to corn starch, or sweet rice flour. It is very expensive (as far as thickening agents go: about 5.00 for 2 or 3 ounces), so using enough starch to produce a "taste" may be cost prohibitive. I use it in a "sore tummy" porridge of left over brown rice, water and Umeboshi plums. I boil the mixture and then add kudzu root starch diluted with water, cooking and stirring until thickened. Thankyou again for taking the time to answer my query. Lauren in Japan