Thickening sauces, especially gravy, without starch.....

Unfortunately, I've become carbohydrate intolerant so I must restrict carbohydrates as much as possible. Boo-Hoo!!!!

Thickening a thin sauce by reduction, cream or butter works fine, but for a thicker sauce like a farmhouse-style gravy I run into trouble when using xanthan because if more than a tiny amount is used the sauce becomes slimy before it gets thick enough.

Can someone suggest something better? I'd like to be able to thicken both cream-based and non cream-based gravies, if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

~Martin

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TODD_ANDERSON_36806

Ever thought of making a slurry with corn starch. It does contain some carbs but not a lot. Just my first thought and wanted to throw that out there.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

I have combined flour or cornstarch with the xanthan to reduce the overall carbs, and that worked okay, but I'd really like to go as close to carb-free as I can by eliminating any starch, if it's possible.

I also tried glucomannan, but the form that I used (capsules) had an unappealing flavor. Perhaps it's not refined enough.

~Martin

TODD_ANDERSON_36806

I'm sure someone from chef steps will chime in on this one for ya.

Chris_Young_80640

I'm going to recommend experimenting with fluid gels based on agar, gelatin, or gellan gums. We're going to be posting a sweet onion fluid gel recipe very soon (it's on my edit list for today).

Basic idea is to prepare your flavorful base, then disperse 0.1 to 1% of a suitable hydrocolloid, heat the liquid to a simmer to hydrate the gelling agent, then cool it and let it set solid, and finally blend it into a puree.

If I wanted to get a rich, opaque result that's like gravy, but less cloying, I would use high acyl gellan gum (Kelcogel LT100) since it will give an opaque, creamy result. I would start with around 0.25% by weight of my stock base and adjust the consistency from there.

The nice thing is that if you make the fluid gel to thick, you can just thin it out by stirring in a bit more liquid.

Brendan_Lee_56950

I used the high acyl gellan to make a feta cheese fluid gel a while back and I can definitely see how that would work well for a cream chipped beef type application. Also, I really liked the idea in the MC book to make the gel base ahead and blend it into your desired sauce for a quick gel, saves a ton of time.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

~Martin

merridith

We're going to be posting a sweet onion fluid gel recipe very soon (it's on my edit list for today).

Did this ever happen? Am I missing something?

Chris_Young_80640

@Merridith: My apologies. I did edit this, but then my travel schedule got in the way of some final details like writing a helpful intro. I'll get to this as soon as I get back to Seattle early next week.

Thanks for the reminder!

Yitzchok_Bernstein_30651

I know it has a lot of carbohydrates, but Parsnips that have been cooked and pureed add a nice creamy consistency when added to creamy sauces, and in small quantities it is only a very mild flavor.

I use it to thicken non dairy risottos beautifully.

Pretty much any root veg puree will do the trick, depending on the application of course.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

Yes, parsnips do have a lot of carbohydrates, but celeriac, rutabagas and turnips are all relatively low.

~Martin

patrick_janoud_62181

if you want a nice colourful rich gravy i would not use anything like cornstarch or any other flours...

use bones to make your sauce.the gelatinous effect that they have on a sauce is nothing cornstarch

or even a fluid gel could do.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

I've worked with the Wondra flour and xanthan combination some more.

I think my original troubles were mostly caused by the old worn-out immersion blender that I had; I wasn't getting good enough dispersion and hydration.

Now that I have a new immersion blender I'm getting MUCH better results.

Tom_Champion_14732

I did the recipe for parsnips: parsnips cut thin, cooked in half milk & water total a 1/2 cup, added dried sage, blended, and the consistency was that of a thick soup. After tasting we decided it made a wonderful appetizer. Didn't care for parsnips before now I do! Couldn't find who did the recipe; but Thanks!

Tom Champion

merridith

Ehhem….@chrisyoung? What ever happened to the onion fluid gel?

Chris_Young_80640

Errr, apologies. It got filmed and then the footage got put on the back burner for editing. Until we sort this out, here is the recipe:

250 g thinly sliced sweet onions

30g unsalted butter

1 thyme sprig

Combine these in a medium-sized pot and sweat the onions until soft and translucent. Then add:

200g semi-skim milk

150g chicken stock

100g heavy cream

Bring to a summer for five minutes, then remove from the burner and discard the thyme. Blend the mixture until very smooth. Season with salt to taste (about 0.5% by weight of the puree is usually appropriate) Pass through a fine sieve.

Once cold, blend the resulting puree with 0.65% of its weight with KelcoGel F, then bring to a simmer for two minutes. Then cool until gelled. Blend and then pass through a sieve if you want to make it extra smooth.

Re-warm fluid gel to serve.