How to Use Starch As a Thickener

Add starch-based slurry to broth to make gravy.

Impress your friends and family with your prowess in the kitchen when you make your own gravy instead of serving the store-bought kind. Or learn how to thicken soups and stews by adding a starch-based slurry. Either way, there two important things to remember when working with starch. When you thicken foods with cornstarch, add cold water to prevent lumps from forming; when you thicken foods with flour add a warm liquid to dissolve the flour.

Things You'll Need

• Flour
• Liquid, as specified by recipe
• Jar
• Saucepan
• Cornstarch
• Cold water
• Bowl
• Whisk

Instructions

Flour Slurry

1. Place 2 tbsp. of flour and 1 cup of warm liquid into a jar. Use the liquid specified by your gravy, soup or stew recipe. A few examples of liquids you might use to make a flour slurry are broth, water, milk or wine.

2. Twist the lid onto the jar and vigorously shake it until the flour dissolves into the liquid. It normally takes less than a minute of shaking for the flour to dissolve.

3. Add small amounts of the slurry to the saucepan containing the food you are thickening while strenuously whisking the liquids together. Drizzle the remaining slurry into the pan and continue mixing until the entire slurry is incorporated into the liquid-based food you are thickening. For example, when making gravy pour the slurry into the pan containing the warm or hot broth you wish to transform into gravy. Stir the mixture the entire time you are combining the slurry with the food you are thickening to prevent lumps from forming.

4. Cook over medium-high heat for a few minutes until the mixture thickens.

Cornstarch Slurry

1. Put 1 tsp. of cornstarch into 1/4 cup of cold water.

2. Whisk the cornstarch briskly into the water to combine. As you whisk, the dry cornstarch will dissolve into the water.

3. Pour the entire slurry slowly into the liquid-based food you are thickening. Continuously stir as you combine the two liquids. Cook for a few minutes to remove the starch flavor. The cornstarch infused liquid-based food will thicken as it cooks. Do not boil or simmer.

Tips & Warnings

• Flour contains gluten, is a traditional thickening agent and imparts an opaque color on the liquid-based food it is used to thicken.

• Cornstarch is gluten-free and liquids thickened with it remain clear, smooth and glossy in appearance.

• Use half the amount of cornstarch to thicken a liquid as you would flour. For example, if a recipe asks for 2 tbsp. of flour, use 1 tbsp. of cornstarch.

• Boiling, simmering or stirring a cornstarch-thickened mixture too much will break the starch cells, causing ithe mixture to thin.

References

• Cook's Thesaurus: Thickeners
• Dr. Gourmet: Techniques--Thickening Agents
• Miss Vickie: All About Cornstarch