Thickening Agents
Source of Recipe
Grandpoohbah
Starch Thickeners
starch thickeners Notes: These silky powders are used to thicken sauces, gravies,
pie fillings, and puddings. They're popular because they thicken without adding fat
or much flavor.
Tips:
* To avoid lumps, mix the starch with an equal amount of cold liquid until it
forms a paste, then whisk it into the liquid you're trying to thicken. Once the
thickener is added, cook it briefly to remove the starchy flavor. Don't
overcook--liquids thickened with some starches will thin again if cooked too long or
at too high a temperature.
* Cornstarch, arrowroot, and tapioca are the most popular starch thickeners.
They have different strengths and weaknesses, so it's a good idea to stock all three in
your pantry.
* Starch thickeners give food a transparent, glistening sheen, which looks nice in
a pie filling, but a bit artificial in a gravy or sauce. If you want high gloss, choose
tapioca or arrowroot. If you want low gloss, choose cornstarch.
* Cornstarch is the best choice for thickening dairy-based sauces. Arrowroot
becomes slimy when mixed with milk products.
* Choose arrowroot if you're thickening an acidic liquid. Cornstarch loses
potency when mixed with acids.
* Sauces made with cornstarch turn spongy when they're frozen. If you plan to
freeze a dish, use tapioca starch or arrowroot as a thickener.
* Starch thickeners don't add much flavor to a dish, although they can impart a
starchy flavor if they're undercooked. If you worried that your thickener will mask
delicate flavors in your dish, choose arrowroot. It's the most neutral tasting of the
starch thickeners.
* Tapioca starch thickens quickly, and at a relatively low temperature. It's a
good choice if you want to correct a sauce just before serving it.
Substitutes: roux (Higher in fat, but best for gravies, stews, and gumbos.) OR
instant flour (Use twice as much. Flour turns sauces opaque, imparts a starchy
flavor, thins out if cooked too long, and breaks down if frozen and thawed.) OR
potato (Adding grated potato to soups or stews will thicken them.) OR nut flours
(These have a more pronounced flavor.)
Varieties:
arrowroot starch = arrowroot powder = arrowroot = arrowroot flour Equivalents:
One tablespoon thickens one cup of liquid. Notes: This starch thickener has
several advantages over cornstarch. It has a more neutral flavor, so it's a good
thickener for delicately flavored liquids. It also works at a lower temperature, and
tolerates acidic ingredients and prolonged cooking better. And while sauces
thickened with cornstarch turn into a spongy mess if they're frozen, those made with
arrowroot can be frozen and thawed with impunity. The downside is that arrowroot
is pricier than cornstarch, and it's not a good thickener for dairy-based sauces, since
it turns them slimy. Arrowroot also imparts a shiny gloss to foods, and while it can
make a dessert sauce glow spectacularly, it can make a meat sauce look eerie and
fake. To use arrowroot, just make a slurry by mixing it with an equal amount of cold
water, then whisk the mixture into a hot liquid for about 30 seconds. Look for it in
Asian markets and health food stores. Both the starch and the tuber from which it's
made are often called arrowroot. Substitutes: tapioca starch (very similar) OR
Instant ClearJel® OR cornstarch (Cornstarch doesn't impart as glossy a finish and
can leave a starchy taste if undercooked.) OR kudzu powder OR potato starch
OR rice starch OR flour (Flour makes an opaque sauce, imparts a floury taste, and
can easily turn lumpy. One part arrowroot = two parts flour)
ClearJel® = ClearJel® starch = Clear-jel Notes: This modified cornstarch is the
secret ingredient that many commercial bakers use in their fruit pie fillings. Unlike
ordinary cornstarch, ClearJel® works well with acidic ingredients, tolerates high
temperatures, and doesn't cause pie fillings to "weep" during storage. ClearJel® is
an especially good choice if you're canning homemade pie fillings, since it doesn't
begin thickening until the liquid begins to cool. This allows the heat the be more
evenly distributed within the jar during processing. This is such an important safety
advantage that ClearJel® is the only thickener the USDA recommends for home
canning. You can also use ClearJel® to thicken sauces, stews, and the like, though
it's a rather expensive all-purpose thickener. One downside is that products
thickened with ClearJel® tend to break down if they're frozen and thawed. If you
plan to freeze what you're making, use Instant ClearJel®, arrowroot, or tapioca
starch. ClearJel® is available either as pearls or powder from mail-order suppliers,
but it's not yet available in grocery stores. Substitutes: Instant ClearJel® (Don't
use this if you're canning a pie filling.) OR tapioca starch OR arrowroot starch OR
cornstarch
cornflour
cornstarch = corn starch = cornflour = crème de mais = maize cornflour
Equivalents: One tablespoon (1/4 ounce) thickens one cup of liquid. Notes: This
silky powder is used to thicken sauces, gravies, and puddings. Like other starch
thickeners, cornstarch should be mixed into a slurry with an equal amount of cold
water before it's added to the hot liquid you're trying to thicken. You then need to
simmer the liquid, stirring constantly, for a minute or so until it thickens. Cornstarch
doesn't stand up to freezing or prolonged cooking, and it doesn't thicken well when
mixed with acidic liquids. Cornstarch is called cornflour or maize cornflour in Britain,
Australia, and New Zealand. Don't confuse cornstarch with the finely ground
cornmeal that Americans call corn flour. Substitutes: arrowroot (This tolerates
freezing and prolonged cooking better, and imparts a glossier finish.) OR ClearJel®
(especially for pie fillings) OR tapioca starch (dissolves more easily) OR potato
starch (This is permitted during Passover.) OR kuzu OR flour OR water chestnut
starch (especially in Asian cuisines) OR unsweetened almond powder (imparts a
nutty taste, especially good in Chinese sweet-and-sour dishes)
crème de mais
Instant Clearjel® Notes: This is a modified cornstarch that professional bakers
sometimes use to thicken pie fillings. It has several advantages over ordinary
cornstarch. Instant ClearJel® thickens without cooking, works well with acidic
ingredients, tolerates high temperatures, is freezer-stable, and doesn't cause pie
fillings to "weep" during storage. Don't use Instant ClearJel® for canning--it tends
to break down. Substitutes: ClearJel® (not freezer-stable) OR tapioca starch OR
arrowroot starch OR cornstarch
instant tapioca = quick-cooking tapioca = quick tapioca = granulated tapioca =
tapioca granules = instant pearl tapioca Notes: These small, starchy granules are
used to make tapioca pudding and to thicken pie fillings. The grains don't dissolve
completely when cooked, so puddings and pies thickened with them end up studded
with tiny gelatinous balls. If you don't mind the balls, you can also use instant tapioca
to thicken soups, gravies, and stews. If the balls are a problem, just pulverize the
instant tapioca in a coffee grinder or blender, or buy tapioca starch, which is already
finely ground. Instant tapioca tolerates prolonged cooking and freezing, and gives
the fillings an attractive glossy sheen. To use it in a pie filling, mix it with the other
ingredients, then let it sit for at least five minutes so that the tapioca can absorb some
of the liquid. Don't confuse instant tapioca with regular tapioca, which has larger
beads, or with the even larger tapioca pearls sold in Asian markets. Minute®
tapioca is a well-known brand. Substitutes: regular tapioca (Use twice as much.
Puddings made with this will have larger gelatinous balls in it.) OR tapioca starch
(This is also used to thicken pie fillings.) OR tapioca pearls (Pulverize these first with
a blender, coffee grinder, or food processor) OR cornstarch (Use half as much.
Cornstarch breaks down if it's mixed with acidic ingredients, cooked for a long time,
or frozen and thawed.) OR arrowroot (more expensive) OR flour (Use a little more.)
glutinous rice flour
katakuriko
kudzu powder = kuzu powder Pronunciation: KOOD-zoo Equivalents: Use 3
tablespoons of kudzu powder to thicken 2 cups of liquid. Notes: This thickener is
made from the tuber of the kudzu, the obnoxious vine that was imported from Japan
a number of years ago and is now growing out of control all over the South. It's very
expensive, and the main reason to buy it is for its reputed medicinal benefits. It
comes in small chunks. To thicken a liquid, crush the chunks into a powder, mix
them with an equal amount of cold water, then stir the mixture into the hot liquid and
simmer for a few minutes until the sauce is thickened. Look for kudzu in health food
stores. Substitutes: arrowroot powder OR cornstarch
lotus root flour Notes: This is gluten-free.
maize cornflour
mochiko
naw may fun
potato flour
potato starch = potato flour = potato starch flour = katakuriko Notes: This
gluten-free starch is used to thicken soups and gravies. Its main advantage over
other starch thickeners is that it's a permitted ingredient for Passover, unlike
cornstarch and other grain-based foods. Liquids thickened with potato starch should
never be boiled. Supermarkets often stock it among the Kosher products.
Substitutes: cornstarch (This is very similar, but not permitted for Passover.)
OR arrowroot OR tapioca starch OR ground Passover matzo (This is also permitted
for Passover.)
regular tapioca = small pearl tapioca Notes: These are small beads of tapioca that
are used to make tapioca pudding. The beads don't dissolve completely, so they
end up as small, squishy, gelatinous balls that are suspended in the pudding. Don't
confuse this with instant tapioca, which is granulated and often used to thicken fruit
pie fillings, or with pearl tapioca, which has much larger balls. Substitutes: instant
tapioca (Tapioca pudding made with this will end have smaller gelatinous balls. Use
half as much.)
sago starch = sago = pearl sage Pronunciation: SAY-go Notes: This flour is
made from the inner pulp of the sago palm. It's often used to make pudding, but it
can also serve as an all-purpose thickener. Look for it in Asian markets.
Substitutes: tapioca pearls
sahlab Notes: This is made from orchid tubers and has a pleasant, flowery smell.
Look for it in Middle Eastern markets. Substitutes: cornstarch (Substitute measure
for measure.)
sorghum starch Substitutes: cornstarch
soy starch
sweet potato starch
sweet rice flour = mochiko = glutinous rice flour = glutinous rice powder = sweet
glutinous rice flour = mochi flour = naw may fun Notes: This thickener has the
virtue of remaining stable when frozen. It's often used to make Asian desserts. Don't
confuse sweet rice flour with ordinary rice flour. Look for it in Asian markets.
Substitutes: tapioca starch (This also doesn't separate when frozen)
tapioca flour
tapioca pearls = pearl tapioca = large pearl tapioca = fish eye tapioca = tapioca balls
= sa khu met lek Notes: These round pellets are made from cassava roots.
Asians use them to make puddings and a beverage called bubble tea. You can also
use them to make tapioca pudding, though it's faster and easier to use instant or
regular tapioca. The pearls are normally soaked for at least a few hours before
they're added to a recipe. Substitutes: sago starch OR instant tapioca OR tapioca
starch
tapioca starch = tapioca flour = cassava flour = yucca starch = almidon de yuca
Notes: Tapioca is a good choice for thickening pie fillings, since it thickens at a
lower temperature than cornstarch, remains stable when frozen, and imparts a glossy
sheen. Many pie recipes call for instant tapioca instead of tapioca starch, but instant
tapioca doesn't dissolve completely and leaves small gelatinous blobs suspended in
the liquid. This isn't a problem in a two-crust pies, but the blobs are more noticeable
in single-crust pies. Tapioca starch is finely ground so that it dissolves completely,
eliminating the gelatinous blob problem. The starch is also sometimes used to thicken
soups, stews, and sauces, but the glossy finish looks a bit unnatural in these kinds of
dishes. It works quickly, though, so it's a good choice if you want to correct a sauce
just before serving it. Some recipes for baked goods also call for tapioca flour
because it imparts a chewier texture. Substitutes: instant tapioca (Also good for
thickening pie fillings. If you like, pulverize the beads in a blender before using.) OR
Instant ClearJel® OR sweet rice flour (also remains stable when frozen) OR
cornstarch (doesn't dissolve as easily, separates if frozen) OR arrowroot (separates
if frozen) OR potato starch (separates if frozen) OR rice starch (separates if frozen)
OR instant flour (use twice as much; sauce will be opaque, not clear; separates if
frozen)
water chestnut flour = water chestnut powder = water chestnut starch Notes:
Asian cooks often dredge foods in this before frying them, because it gives fried
foods a crisp, nutty coating. It can also be used as a thickener. Look for it in Asian
markets and health food stores. Don't confuse this with chestnut flour. Substitutes:
cornstarch
water chestnut powder
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