THICKENING AGENTS

Thickening Agents

When making sauces, consistency is everything. Consistency in flavor & quality and consistency in regards to the thickness of the sauce, different degrees of thickness for different uses. This next table is a good one to use as a gauge when building a sauce’s textural consistency.

Flour Remember, quality flour is KEY to making a quality roux. Adjusting the ratios of FAT, STARCH, and Liquid

Roux o White / Raw (Beurre Manie’) - Equal amounts of flour and clarified butter; but just plain unsalted melted butter works just fine. o Blonde – Equal amounts of flour and lightly browned butter. o Brunette – Equal amounts of flour and dark brown butter. (Much nuttier flavor)

Consistency Butter Flour Roux Liquid

Thin or light 6 oz 6 oz 12 oz 1 gal Medium 8 oz 8 oz 1 lb 1 gal Thick or 12 oz 12 oz 1 ½ lbs 1 gal heavy

Slurry or Whitewash – Flour dissolved and whisked into water or other liquids; then added to boiling liquids slowly, while whisking to prevent lumping. (Not too flavorful, & and not too recommended, but it is useful in many different dishes and circumstances)

Beurre Manie’- Equal amounts of soft butter and flour. Not cooked but raw roux. Slowly add to simmering liquids while whisking, allow for thickening to develop as the starch cooks. For certain Creole style sauces, like Etouffe’, it is common to brown the flour or toast it in the oven, cooling it down before adding it to the soft butter to make the roux; this process will give the sauce a “toasty & nutty” flavor, often referred to as a Brunette Beurre Manie’.

▪ Corn Starch – Diluted and whisked smooth in water or other liquids. Pour slowly to simmering liquids while whisking, as to not develop lumps of gluten. Cornstarch and other modified food starch will cause sauce to become quickly thickened, & when this starch is cooked it becomes glossy. Very popular in

Asian stir-fry style cooking.

▪ Arrowroot – Not widely used, but it is useful; a white powder looks much like cornstarch. Thickens hot or cold liquids, useful in the pastry kitchen with dessert sauces. The taste is left lightly starchy, but easy to disguise or cover-up with tangy lemon juice or with sweetness from honey or sugar.

▪ Liaison – 3 parts cream per every egg yolk, whisked together and slowly add to less than simmering liquids, taking it off and putting it on the heat as necessary to thicken; never let its temperature reach 180 degrees or it will curdle. Hold for service above 140 but lower than 180.

Some other starches which will help thicken liquids for example:

o Potatoes (Diced, Puréed, or Powered) o Rice o Legumes, Lentils o Modified Food Starch o Eggs also will thicken these liquids ▪ Reduction - Simmering a sauce for a long period-of-time, causes water to evaporate, therefore, the sauce will thicken. Use the reduction process to concentrate basic flavors, adjust textures, and add new flavors. A Gastric style sauce is developed when about 50% volume of sugar is added to flavored liquid then reduced and cooled to a syrup consistency.