Cornstarch

[Georgiana]

I've been reading several soup recipes that ask for cornstarch. Like this one: http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/recipes/.../Mushroom-Soup

Is there something that can be used as a substitute, for an OWL Rung 6-er?

[chauber]

Re: Cornstarch

I remember Dr. A mentioning Thick N Thin in the book but have never personally found it....

[Georgiana]

Re: Cornstarch

We don't have that in Germany....

[DarlingBri]

Re: Cornstarch

If it's of any use to you, we use a recipe very similar to that, but I simply slice the mushrooms and reverse the food processor order, so it would look something like this:

1. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, and lightly sauté the shallots. Add the sliced mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaf and sauté for 10 minutes, or until the liquid disappears and the mushrooms are cooked through.
2. Add cream and stock and bring to a boil. Quickly reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Place half the mixture in a food blender and blend - two quick blasts should be sufficient. (This thickens your soup with... soup.)
4. Return blender contents to saucepan and stir to combine. If it's not thick enough then you can reduce it a bit more but you should not need to.
5. Serve

We've always made our soups this way - chicken soup, mushroom soup, beef stew, no thickeners - and it's always been plenty thick.

[liv]

Re: Cornstarch

I think the soup would be fine without it.
I sometimes use guar gum for sauces. I am not sure what rung it belongs on. It is a tough thing to work with.

I often blend cauliflower as a base for my soups

[mizski]

Re: Cornstarch

I like DarlingBri's method...that's what I have been doing also.

But...Linda low carb uses xanthan gum (supposedly works in hot or cold recipes). I bought some at the natural foods store but have not tried it. There is also guar gum which works in hot recipes. I have not tried that either.

[LC_Diva]

Re: Cornstarch

Xanthan gum works really well! Just add a little at a time and stir well...

[Georgiana]

Re: Cornstarch

Oops! I somehow missed the replies here. Thanks everyone!

Bri, that method sounds easy and I like that it doesn't ask for any "extra" ingredients. I'll give it a try this week.

[Georgiana]

Re: Cornstarch

The mushroom soup recipe is really good! I followed what Bri said, with the recipe cut by half. Unlike in the recipe, I used about a cup of chicken broth and 1/3 cup chicken meat (this was boiled meat, left after making the broth). Also, I couldn't motivate using 1/2 cup heavy cream per serving , so I used only 2 tbsp. This made ~2-1/2 cups of yummy soup (580 mL, measured). Looks a bit like baby food, but it tastes much better and it's cheaper.

[chadci]

Re: Cornstarch

You can always just cook it a little longer. The liquid will reduce and naturally thicken. The flavor will get much richer as well. One word of caution when doing it this way, wait until after it cooks to add seasoning or it will be too strong.

[chinadoll]

Re: Cornstarch

For recipes that require a bechamel type sauce, I blend ricotta and an egg with some nutmeg and a dash of cream. Good for cauliflower mac and cheese, moussaka, lots of things.

If you beat an egg into just warm sauces, that can also help thicken somewhat. Too hot and the egg will cook and not thicken.