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gluten_freeAdam Ragusea aragusea was a public radio reporter, is now a journalism professor, and has recently become a YouTuber talking about home cooking with a healthy dose of science. I was thrilled by last year’s Alternative Starches: How to thicken sauces without flour. He demonstrates making gravy with
- flours: rice, potato, and corn (US: corn starch)
- starches: tapioca, arrowroot
- gums: xanthan and agar agar.
He also explores how some gums maintain their staying power at all temperatures, which finally explained why wheat flours sometimes show up in ice creams.
I’ve been using cornstarch and arrowroot to make slurry gravies for decades. Adam blew my mind by making a traditional browned roux with both potato and rice flours, and they look great! Adam summarizes:
If you need to make a gluten-free gravy, you can try making your roux with rice flour or potato starch — I'd do the rice flour because it's more opaque. That makes a really delicious gravy. Nobody is gonna miss the wheat.
Content notes: although he has sponsors, YouTube is running US campaign ads to start and randomly in the middle.
Have you made fat-and-flour based sauces with gluten-free ingredients? Which flour did you use? Please share any hard-won lessons or handy tips.
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Date: 2020-10-24 07:58 pm (UTC)I also find rice flour easier to use. With corn starch, if you don't suspend it thoroughly in water before adding to the fat, it settles into a non-Newtonian fluid at the bottom that is difficult to re-suspend. I don't have that problem with rice flour.
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Date: 2020-10-26 07:59 pm (UTC)In my roux days, I would use 4Tbs of butter with 4Tbs of wheat flour. Based on your experience, can I substitute rice flour at the same volume as wheat flour?
I found an outstanding resource on the delicate varieties of non-Newtonian liquids.
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Date: 2020-10-26 09:18 pm (UTC)Cool resource, thank you!
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Date: 2020-10-24 08:51 pm (UTC)This looks like a great resource!
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Date: 2020-10-26 08:02 pm (UTC)I love how he brings a Dr-Rodney's-Science-Corner enthusiasm to the task, comparing each thickener's behavior at various temps.
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Date: 2020-10-27 03:11 pm (UTC)Aw. <3
I haven't watched the vid yet, but your post (and![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
j00j's link to Kitchn) inspired me to give rice flour a try instead of being lazy and using corn starch. We made turkey gravy with a sweet rice flour roux and it wasn't any extra work, thickened easily, and the gravy didn't get scary as it cooled. Yay for science!
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Date: 2020-10-27 05:36 pm (UTC)....the crowd wants to know: did you have biscuits for the gravy?
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Date: 2020-10-27 05:42 pm (UTC)Mashed potatoes. I can't eat any of the things that make biscuits taste good. :(
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Date: 2020-10-24 09:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-26 08:02 pm (UTC)...and gumbo is from rice country, so it makes sense.
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Date: 2020-10-24 11:29 pm (UTC)my go-to for holiday meal gravy uses xanthan gum with an immersion blender to mix it into pan juices, stock, or bouillon/meat base. with the immersion blender there are no worries about lumps and i can atomize some flavors from the pan by keeping a few stray mushrooms, onions, bits of meat, etc. you have to add the xanthan powder incrementally and keep testing for consistency since xanthan can go from pleasing to uncanny slime quite quickly. it's better to under-shoot as it will set a bit more as it cools.
what i like about the xanthan is that it has no perceptible flavor on its own, so you get a very pure and punchy meatiness as long as you have a flavorful liquid to start with. i am able to have gluten myself and i've come to prefer this treatment over a traditional flour-thickened gravy. (plus it NEVER fails to thicken.) it's always a hit with company.
You are brave!
Date: 2020-10-26 08:04 pm (UTC)I had just one successful encounter with xanthan gum. Mostly its awesome thickening powers have created frightening almost-sentient blocks of jelly on my countertop and in my sink.
Using the immersion blender is crucial, as well as improving the taste.
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Date: 2020-10-25 12:41 am (UTC)I've now watched the video and I think my plan is def going to be using a mix of potato starch and rice flour to make gravy - I'll try the roux method, that sounds tasty af.
It's so handy to have a reliable packaged product
Date: 2020-10-26 08:05 pm (UTC)Best of luck -- and report back with your results.
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Date: 2020-10-25 02:25 pm (UTC)Great link
Date: 2020-10-26 08:09 pm (UTC)Oh! Freezing! If one makes something with leftovers, then its freezer response is crucial. Your linked recipe even suggests freezing the result so as to have some handy in the months to come.
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Date: 2020-10-25 05:06 pm (UTC)Rice flour, huh? I'll have to pick some up, that's worth a shot...
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Date: 2020-10-26 08:12 pm (UTC)Rice flour is complex to shop for, since (at least in the U.S. Midwest) we have quite a variety.
Sweet rice flour (sometimes labeled Mochiko) has the most thickening power per unit. I can't tell any functional difference between white and brown rice flour.
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Date: 2020-10-27 05:22 pm (UTC)(The exception being cubeb/tailed peppers, I always have to mail order those.)
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Date: 2020-10-27 05:40 pm (UTC)It's not actually sweet. It's also labeled "glutinous" or "sticky" white rice. It's ground from very short grain rice which has a higher starch content.
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Date: 2020-10-27 10:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-26 07:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-26 08:13 pm (UTC)Does potato flour also form a nice slurry?
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Date: 2020-10-31 10:51 pm (UTC)