how to thicken?

[GuyK]

A standard way of thickening -- gravy for example -- is to use a roux (flour and fat, cooked a little, then mix with hot liquid).

Is there a good l/c substitute for a roux? I've heard about xantham gum, but I have no idea how to use it. Any other methods?

Thanks,
Guy

[Tril]

Here's list of vegetable thickeners:

•Agar Agar
•Cellulose Gum
•Xanthan Gum
•Guar Gum
•Locust Bean Gum
•Pectin

I've used xanthan and guar with similar results. Pectin has too many carbs (around 40 ng per package).

It takes VERY little xanthan or guar gum powder to thicken something. Dust on the liquid, stir.... wait. It will coagulate the liquid. Literally. Dust more and stir if you need to.

Read this, though, before you use either:

Warning

•Guar gum is not absorbed by the stomach and can cause nausea, flatulence, diarrhea and gastro-intestinal pain. It can slow the absorption of drugs like digoxin, acetaminophen and bumetanide, or block the absorption of metformin, penicillin V and some formulations of glyburide. When taken as a weight-loss pill, guar gum requires a lot of water so as not to form an intestinal blockage. Diabetics should be cautious around guar gum, as it affects the absorption of metaformin, which changes how the body decreases blood sugar. Some people may be allergic to xanthan gum, exhibiting intestinal pain, diarrhea, migraine headaches and temporary high blood pressure. Those allergic to corn may receive an adverse reaction, due to the corn-bred bacteria used to create the product.


Read more: Guar Gum Vs. Xanthan | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5569020_gu...#ixzz14iOLeV8O

[Tril]

None of them give the same results as a roux. They gel liquid.

[GuyK]

Thanks, Tril and Blue -- this is interesting stuff to me. In another aspect of the gastronomy world, there has been a phrase coined ("molecular gastronomy") where chefs have been working on stretching boundaries, in a creative and edible way, of course. I know that agar, xantham gum and guar gum have all been used in various ways, but I know so little about this whole field. A chef named Ferran Adria, in Spain, is kind of like the godfather of this relatively new field (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferran_Adri%C3%A0).

I haven't really thought about it yet, but it might make sense to try some experiments, such as making a white sauce (bechamel) and maybe a veloute (like bechamel, except made with stock instead of milk) using something other than a roux for thickening.

[GuyK]

Tril -- I think I was typing the same time as you --

What you're saying makes sense...to figure out what works in what situations may take some experimentation. Gelling versus thickening. I'll have to ponder that one a bit .

guy

[GuyK]

I can give a quick example situation -- when I got home last night, my wife was finishing some goulash (a beef, pepper and paprika stew, more or less) in the oven, but it was fairly thin and watery. She started to think about using xantham gum, but I suggested she just let it reduce in the oven a little more. When it was done, she finished it with a little sour cream, which tends to thin out everything just a little more. But it turned out fine.

[tracyred]

oooh, good idea Bluey - i may try that...except i'm hopeless at stew....sigh

[tracyred]

me likey.....

i need allthe help i can get! even with a roast - last year i got step by step instructions, and now i am the roast QUEEN! but before that...dry, lumps of meant, every time....

help!!! blue! helllllppppppp!!!!

tracy

[GuyK]

About stews and roasts: I'm no expert with beef either, but I do love a pot roast cut that we call a chuck (from the beef shoulder). Well-trimmed and cubed, it is excellent for a stew, even in a slow-cooker/crockpot. Uncubed, browned on all sides, place in a dutch oven with just about whatever you want (celery, onion, a can of tomatoes, maybe a strip or two of bacon) and bake at 300F for maybe 3 hours. It's an excellent pot roast. Classic easy braising.

What you don't want to do, with a chuck, is to roast it at high heat (which is something you might do with a whole tenderloin). The high heat makes the connective tissue in the chuck seize, and you end up with a tough piece of meat. Same thing with chuck used for stew: low and slow is best. Wet-heat (braising) so that the connective tissue melts and turns into a gelatin base.

[GuyK]

So, the day after my wife made the goulash that turned out so well -- I took some with me for lunch. When I reheated it in a microwave oven, it was all gummy. So later that night I asked my wife if she'd thickened it with xantham gum. Yes, she had. I asked her not to do that again.

We'll experiment with some other things. But I think I'd rather not thicken things than have them end up so unpalatably gummy.

[Tril]

Thus the name xanthan GUM. I don't like it, either. I used to use it in smoothies to give them some "body", but I had to drink it right down before it completely turned to icy fruit gel. That was pre-low carb days a lifetime ago. LOL

[tracyred]

i really need to try some chuck....still not super-cheap in this country, but cheaper than other cuts for sure!

gonna do it in my slow cooker- thanks guy!

t

[Tril]

Tracy... be sure to brown it before you pop it in the slow cooker. Dutch oven, some oil... get a nice brown color on the outside of the roast (roll it over to all sides).

Here... this might help:

http://busycooks.about.com/od/howtoc...otroast101.htm

[FlorayG]

I know not everyone has a woodburner but if you do here's how I cook a big joint of cheaper cut meat. Put it in a really heavy cast iron pot with a good fitting lid and put it on top of the stove when you light it. leave it for 3 -4 hours and it's done, soft and succulent and yummy. Don't put anything in with it. so easy it's silly.