Thickening sauces

[avernus]

Good method of thickening sauces -

Fry some onions in a little oil or butter and when they're down sprinkly on a teaspoon of two of flour. Stir it all up until all the flour coats the onions, fry to cook the flour for a few minutes - if you turn the heat up they will brown nicely. When any liquid is added the flour is quickly and simply mixed into the liquid and acts as a thickening agent.

If you add red wine and stock this method will give you a lovely onion gravy - add a bay leaf, juniper berries and a spoonful of dijon mustard; reduce to thicken and pour over browned sausages, pop in the oven for 45 minutes or until cooked. Mash some spuds and viola the best bangers and mash ever! (Maybe this is an English dish? Its sausages and mashed potatoes - hearty winter grub).

David

[Malou]

I used corn starch and it seems to have the same affect!

[avernus]

It does have the same effect. I often find that it doeesn't mix properly if I just sprinkle it on so I get a bit of whatever needs thickening and add it bit by bit to the flour and mix it, like making cocoa or a white sauce.

[maleficent]

Arrowroot is nice for thickening too, and it doesn't turn the sauces you are working with, whitish... It leaves the natural color of the food.

For cornstarch or arrowroot I'd mix it in with a little bit of water or wine or some liquid before heating it, that keeps it lump free.

[Malou]

When you mix it with water do you use hot, warm, or cold... cause i think it does make a differance

[yellowchef]

cold water for the cornstarch right over the heat.. its a equal parts water to cornstarch mix

arrowroot can be added right over the heat

if you dont use a LOT of cornstarch you dont get the whitish color..

[Malou]

thanks good stuff

[pinkie]

How about a roux?

[chef001_2003]

SPrinkling flour over the onions is actually a roux.

flour + fat (equal parts) + heat= roux

also any starch can thicken
cornstarch
potato strarch
arrow root
flour
etc...

they do work differently but all using the same idea the starch absorbs water making huge starch molecules wich can be broken with high heat for an extended period, harsh mechanical action i.e. hand blenders so use caution and have fun exploring this vast area of culinary experimentation

[avernus]

Well a roux is specifically a mix of butter and flour used as a base for most of the french sauces but the effect is the same.

[magnacarta]

Do be sure to bring sauces thickened with cornstarch or arrow root to a boil - that's when they thicken.

Other ways to thicken sauces -
Use butter - cold butter - a tablespoon on the heat, stirring until it is almost melted, then another tablespoon off the heat, again until it is almost melted; repeat until thickened; adjust your seasonings - not the most healthy of sauces, but very flavorful.

Reduction - really intensifies flavors

Tomato paste

Puree the heck out of it - if you have veggies and whatnot in the sauce, just puree the heck out of it then strain - very healthy and good tasting.

[Manuel Hong]

arrowroot tends to give the sauce a nice sheen too. (not Charlie or Martin)
I'm getting hungry!

[yellowchef]

roux is fat and flour, strictly butter and flour is a burre maine(sp?) and that uses cold butter and flour.

[angeltek]

for my tomoatoe sauces I ussually add a cup of milk and 2 eggs beaten well...mix in immediatley, works nice and adds great flavour.

The Cornstarch and water mix works well too.

I will on occasion, give a sauce a light sprinkle of flour and mix in immediatly. and continue doing that till desired thickness.

Those are the only 3 methods I know of.

[appleseed]

I was taught by a former chef that all sauces that are thickened with starch need to be cooked for at least 15 minutes after the starch is added in order to get rid of the "raw flour" flavor. Anyone know if that is true?

[Hedgehog]

I bought some guar gum from a health food store the other month, and it works wonders for thickening without using any starch. Use VERY sparingly, as a tablespoon of the stuff will practically solidify a whole pot of stock!

[avernus]

I wouldn't have thought of using eggs in a tomato sauce! Will give it a go....

You do have to cook flour for a time to get rid of that raw taste but I thought it wasn't as long as 15 minutes. Yellowchef, how long do would you cook it for?

[Bryndian_Dhai]

Originally Posted by appleseed

I was taught by a former chef that all sauces that are thickened with starch need to be cooked for at least 15 minutes after the starch is added in order to get rid of the "raw flour" flavor. Anyone know if that is true?

My hubby (a retired chef) says that is indeed true of everything except a roux.... with a roux the flour loses the raw taste as it is browned. I almost exclusively use a roux to make thickened gravies and sauces, as it is extremely versatile, and the different degrees of brown changes the way the gravy ultimately tastes. The darker the roux, the more rich the gravy.

Where I live, in south Louisiana, a roux is a staple, and used more than most other methods of thickening, which is probably why I use it.