What can be used as a thickener in cooking?

Guar or xanthan gum will thicken like cornstarch. I don't use guar so
don't know the proportions, but it takes about 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum to
thickens 1 cup of liquid. I think guar has about the same thickening power
and is supposed to be less expensive. They clump easily, though, so should
be added to a dry ingredient instead of mixed with water first. For
example, if you are adding salt at the end of cooking, mix the salt and
xanthan together in a small cup, then sprinkle on the food while whisking
vigorously. If it does clump, continuing to whisk will eventually get it
to dissolve. The really nice thing about them is the food doesn't have to
be hot. It'll work in cold food too.
If you can afford it, there are gum mixtures that you can buy that work
very well and rarely clump. I use ThickenThin not/Starch but it's very
expensive. It's sold in diabetic specialty stores where I live.

on Fri, 11 Feb 2005 18:38:08 -0600, "MaryL"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Does anyone have suggestions of something to use as a thickener in cooking?
>My mother always used flour or cornstarch, and occasionally tapioca
>(depending on the item). All of those should be avoided with low-carb. Is
>there anything to replace them? What about ground flax seed? Would that
>work, and would it change the flavor or texture? I have diabetes, and I am
>not on a true low-carb diet. I follow South Beach (which emphasizes "good
>carbs"), but I also completely avoid flour of any kind, added sugar, rice,
>and pasta.

-----
Bev

Depending on what you are thickening, I have a few suggestions.

For a red sauce, spaghetti sauce and such, at the end of cooking add a few
tablespoons of tomato paste, thickens like a charm.

For an alfredo or white sauce, adding a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese
near the end of cooking thickens the sauce.

For a soup, I usually mix 1-2 tablespoons of soy flour with butter, mix it
together well then put into the soup. It works great.


"MaryL" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Does anyone have suggestions of something to use as a thickener in
> cooking? My mother always used flour or cornstarch, and occasionally
> tapioca (depending on the item). All of those should be avoided with
> low-carb. Is there anything to replace them? What about ground flax
> seed? Would that work, and would it change the flavor or texture? I have
> diabetes, and I am not on a true low-carb diet. I follow South Beach
> (which emphasizes "good carbs"), but I also completely avoid flour of any
> kind, added sugar, rice, and pasta.
>
> Thanks,
> MaryL
>

"JS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Depending on what you are thickening, I have a few suggestions.
>
> For a red sauce, spaghetti sauce and such, at the end of cooking add a few
> tablespoons of tomato paste, thickens like a charm.

you should use the paste first when making sauce - and the sauce will be
thick - there is no reason you would ever need to add flour or something to
thicken tomato sauce.

brown garlic in olive oil - remove garlic, add some chopped celery w/greens
, then add tomato paste. If you wanna put beef in brown it with the celery
then add the paste. let the paste cook a bit, stir it, let it coat the meat
(if no meat let it blend with oil and turn more orange then red) then add
tomato puree (or crushed or whatever you use) if you do like 2 big cans of
puree add 1 can water (if you do 4 big cans do 1-2 cans water) add your
basil, parsely, salt, pepper, bay leaf, whatever - and let it cook at least
2 hours (longer if there is meat - you don't want tough meat)

ok - there ya go.

>
> For an alfredo or white sauce, adding a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese
> near the end of cooking thickens the sauce.

i always used 1/4 cup flour coked with 1/4 cup butter before adding 2.5 cups
milk - cook till thick then add 1/2 cup grated parmesan, S & P. It thickens
before the cheese but dunno how to get the same effect with out the flour in
the beginning. would the soy flour work?

>
> For a soup, I usually mix 1-2 tablespoons of soy flour with butter, mix it
> together well then put into the soup. It works great.
>


>
> "MaryL" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Does anyone have suggestions of something to use as a thickener in
>> cooking? My mother always used flour or cornstarch, and occasionally
>> tapioca (depending on the item). All of those should be avoided with
>> low-carb. Is there anything to replace them? What about ground flax
>> seed? Would that work, and would it change the flavor or texture? I
>> have diabetes, and I am not on a true low-carb diet. I follow South
>> Beach (which emphasizes "good carbs"), but I also completely avoid flour
>> of any kind, added sugar, rice, and pasta.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> MaryL
>>
>
>

it would depend what youre cooking, i would think. if you're making a
soup, have you tried puree'ing or using a blender for half of it? that
would thicken it. also, have you thought about soy flour? its got 3
carbs per 1/4 cup or something really low. i use it a lot to make
breadings and such.

yall be nice to JC. he's an ass, but thats what i love in my men

I use Arrowroot. It only takes about half a tsp or less to thicken a fairly
large amount of anything and it adds no flavor of its own.

--
bjgeiger
"MaryL" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Does anyone have suggestions of something to use as a thickener in
> cooking? My mother always used flour or cornstarch, and occasionally
> tapioca (depending on the item). All of those should be avoided with
> low-carb. Is there anything to replace them? What about ground flax
> seed? Would that work, and would it change the flavor or texture? I have
> diabetes, and I am not on a true low-carb diet. I follow South Beach
> (which emphasizes "good carbs"), but I also completely avoid flour of any
> kind, added sugar, rice, and pasta.
>
> Thanks,
> MaryL
>

"nanner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> i always used 1/4 cup flour coked with 1/4 cup butter before adding 2.5
cups
> milk - cook till thick then add 1/2 cup grated parmesan, S & P. It
thickens
> before the cheese but dunno how to get the same effect with out the flour
in
> the beginning. would the soy flour work?

I personally think soy flour is kinda nasty as a thickener, unless there is
a lot of other flavor to cover it up. Google the group and you'll find lots
of recipes for Alfredo sauce that don't include a flour thickener. Xanthan
or guar gum are good thickeners, but with more of a cornstarch texture than
a flour one, and no carbs. You definitely don't need to use flour in alfredo
sauce. Also consider using egg yolks as a thickener in some kinds of sauces.
Just handle them/heat them gently so they don't curdle.

HG

I use xanthan gum.

--
---
Chris Smolinski
Black Cat Systems
http://www.blackcatsystems.com

Y'all, not yall.

--
Most people are dumb as bricks; some people are dumber than that. -- MFW


"tia" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> it would depend what youre cooking, i would think. if you're making a
> soup, have you tried puree'ing or using a blender for half of it? that
> would thicken it. also, have you thought about soy flour? its got 3
> carbs per 1/4 cup or something really low. i use it a lot to make
> breadings and such.
>
> yall be nice to JC. he's an ass, but thats what i love in my men
>

You've been looking at my ****?

Pervert.

--
Most people are dumb as bricks; some people are dumber than that. -- MFW


"Pedro's Cat" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> How about JC, he's obviously rather thick.
>
> PC

JC Der Koenig wrote:

> You've been looking at my ****?
>
> Pervert.
>

JPEGs, please, so that we may all be perverts.

Marsha/Ohio

erm... did i miss something?

"Marsha" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> JC Der Koenig wrote:
>
>> You've been looking at my ****?
>>
>> Pervert.
>>
>
> JPEGs, please, so that we may all be perverts.
>

I'm sure you can find what you need through Google, but leave me out of it,
thankyouverymuch.

JC Der Koenig wrote:
> "Marsha" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>JC Der Koenig wrote:
>>
>>
>>>You've been looking at my ****?
>>>
>>>Pervert.
>>>
>>
>>JPEGs, please, so that we may all be perverts.
>>
>
>
> I'm sure you can find what you need through Google, but leave me out of it,
> thankyouverymuch.
>
>
What's Google? Is it low carb?

Marsha/Ohio

Comedy is not low carb!

"Perdu" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 12 Feb 2005 15:44:12 +1000, Pedro's Cat <[email protected]>
> Cried out loud... :
>
>> How about JC, he's obviously rather thick.
>>
>> PC
>
> But you need to use some strong flavors to cover up the nasty taste.
> Something like soy flour. (Bwa .. haha.. hawawa.. bwaha..)
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Steve
>
> Tout est per·du fors l'hon·neur



LOL

I laughed at this until I cried.

Julie

JC Der Koenig wrote:
> You've been looking at my ****?
>
> Pervert.
>

And look, it's getting thicker!

at least youre texan... but proper grammar isnt very important to me
lately... teach english, do you?

--
_____________________________
This be Tia's SIG!!! YAY!


"JC Der Koenig" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Y'all, not yall.
>

I'm certified to teach Secondary English and Secondary Mathematics. At the
moment I'm teaching math.

--
Most people are dumb as bricks; some people are dumber than that. -- MFW


"tia" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> at least youre texan... but proper grammar isnt very important to me
> lately... teach english, do you?
>
> --
> _____________________________
> This be Tia's SIG!!! YAY!
>
>
> "JC Der Koenig" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Y'all, not yall.
>>
>
>

Have you always been this stupid?

--
Now ********. You cannot possibly be this stupid and remember to
breathe. You must be trolling. -- Carmen


"Perdu" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 13 Feb 2005 13:45:02 GMT, "JC Der Koenig" <[email protected]>
> Cried out loud... :
>
>> I've never worked for IBM. I just figure they can get rid of the spam
>> easier
>> than I can.
>
> No they can't. They still got you on their address. Dickcheese.
> Best Regards,
>
> Steve
>
> Tout est per·du fors l'hon·neur