ThickenThin??? anyone?

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Has anyone ever used the ThickenThin instead of cornstarch? There's a few recipes I've found that I'd like to make that call for corn starch.

I'd really like to know opinions before i order online...

thanks!!

[SunnySmile501]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

I use both ThickenThin not/Starch and ThickenThin not/Sugar. They both work great. The ThickenThin not/Starch works good in cracker recipes and mixed with other ingredients (pork rinds, Parmesan cheese) for coating for meats. I don't like it very much for making gravy--it turns out a little slimy. The ThickenThin not/Sugar stabilizes eggs, so it makes the Revolution /oopsie rolls much more bread-like. It gives a more realistic mouth-feel to recipes when you replace all the sugar with artificial sweeteners.

[not2late]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

I'm not fond of the slimy-booger-snot-in-your-mouth texture of the gum thickeners like thickenthin or even flaxmeal-----and mind you, I'm from the South and I love okra!

For gravies and sauces, I like to use vegetables to thicken them. Simply cook finely chopped onion and celery (mushrooms--especially dried porcini mushrooms, if you like the flavor) in broth or stock, until the veggies are very soft. Then put the veggies and some of the cooking liquid into a blender and puree until very fine. Put that puree into a pan and boil, adding more stock to the consistency you want. This is very easily done for roast meats or stews. For roast meats, you put the chopped veggies on the bottom of the roasting pan, set the meat on top, add little water or broth, and cook the meat as usual. When it is cooked, remove the meat and put the veggies and cooking liquid into a blender and proceed as I described. For stews, cook the veggies and the meat, then remove the meat and process the veggies and the cooking liquid. This is also an easy way to eat those veggie carbs during OWL Phase.

[basketballbelly]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

Has anyone ever used the ThickenThin instead of cornstarch? There's a few recipes I've found that I'd like to make that call for corn starch.

I'd really like to know opinions before i order online...

thanks!!

I've used this for years, no flavor to it at all, it really does thicken up your sauces, a little goes a long way.

bbb

[basketballbelly]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

I'm not fond of the slimy-booger-snot-in-your-mouth texture of the gum thickeners like thickenthin or even flaxmeal-----and mind you, I'm from the South and I love okra!

For gravies and sauces, I like to use vegetables to thicken them. Simply cook finely chopped onion and celery (mushrooms--especially dried porcini mushrooms, if you like the flavor) in broth or stock, until the veggies are very soft. Then put the veggies and some of the cooking liquid into a blender and puree until very fine. Put that puree into a pan and boil, adding more stock to the consistency you want. This is very easily done for roast meats or stews. For roast meats, you put the chopped veggies on the bottom of the roasting pan, set the meat on top, add little water or broth, and cook the meat as usual. When it is cooked, remove the meat and put the veggies and cooking liquid into a blender and proceed as I described. For stews, cook the veggies and the meat, then remove the meat and process the veggies and the cooking liquid. This is also an easy way to eat those veggie carbs during OWL Phase.

Wow, great suggestion and it sounds soooooo good as well

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

I'm not fond of the slimy-booger-snot-in-your-mouth texture of the gum thickeners like thickenthin or even flaxmeal-----and mind you, I'm from the South and I love okra!

For gravies and sauces, I like to use vegetables to thicken them. Simply cook finely chopped onion and celery (mushrooms--especially dried porcini mushrooms, if you like the flavor) in broth or stock, until the veggies are very soft. Then put the veggies and some of the cooking liquid into a blender and puree until very fine. Put that puree into a pan and boil, adding more stock to the consistency you want. This is very easily done for roast meats or stews. For roast meats, you put the chopped veggies on the bottom of the roasting pan, set the meat on top, add little water or broth, and cook the meat as usual. When it is cooked, remove the meat and put the veggies and cooking liquid into a blender and proceed as I described. For stews, cook the veggies and the meat, then remove the meat and process the veggies and the cooking liquid. This is also an easy way to eat those veggie carbs during OWL Phase.

well the recipe i found is for a knock-off of Buffalo Wild Wings Medium wing sauce - so i think i will go with the thicken/thin for it - but this is a great idea for other recipes. thanks!

[sadie147]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

well the recipe i found is for a knock-off of Buffalo Wild Wings Medium wing sauce - so i think i will go with the thicken/thin for it - but this is a great idea for other recipes. thanks!

Interesting, I've never seen a wing sauce recipe with a thickener in it. I just use Franks hots sauce and butter.

I've used Xanthan gum for thickening, I find it a little hard to work with without it becoming clumpy, so i sort of gave up on it. I've had the same bag for about 3 years and can't remember the last time i used it.

I haven't found many thing's that I've honestly really needed it for. I thicken my gravies like megs does..or just have my roast au jus.

[not2late]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

I'm with sadie, I've never seen a recipe for wings that uses a thickener. It's usually just butter and hot sauce (and a bit of garlic but that's just my personal taste.)

[SunnySmile501]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

An egg yolk or two whisked into the broth at the very end thickens meat broths fine for gravy. You have to do it on very low heat.

[not2late]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

An egg yolk or two whisked into the broth at the very end thickens meat broths fine for gravy. You have to do it on very low heat.

This is a very effective thickening method too. As well as a very old method. I have a copy of the Martha Washington Cookbook, whose recipes are from the late Medieval to the late 1600s eras. All of the gravies are either reductions thickened with either egg yolks or with heavy cream. According to the food historian footnotes, starch thickeners weren't used until much later and were considered to yeild a poorer quality product.

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

Interesting, I've never seen a wing sauce recipe with a thickener in it. I just use Franks hots sauce and butter.

Yeah - I just use franks and butter usually too - but here's the recipe:

1 cup Frank's cayenne pepper sauce
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar (or splenda)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Combine all ingredients except egg yolk, water, and cornstarch for
sauce of your choice in a small saucepan. Heat sauce over medium
heat until boiling, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove
pan from heat and allow it to cool, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
While sauce cools, vigorously whisk egg yolk with 2 teaspoons water in
a medium bowl for about 2 minutes or color is pale yellow. Whisk in
cornstarch until dissolved. Drizzle sauce mixture into egg yolk mixture
in a steady stream while rapidly whisking. This will create a thick,
creamy emulsion that will prevent oil from separating. Cover sauce
and chill until needed.



I'm sure I could make it WITHOUT the cornstarch and now that i really look at it - maybe even just put all those spices IN frank's hot sauce and put butter in it...

i just LOVE the medium wing sauce from bw's though - and since starting on atkins - I usually eat there about once a week - of course today i looked at the bottle of medium wing sauce i have here that i bought from there and it DOES contain "modified corn starch" - but that's the ONLY ingredient in the sauce that i was upset by - course, at the same time - again - i HAVE lost 14 pounds now since january and i do eat a platter of 12 'medium' wings there about once a week...(1 carb per tbsp - no sugar) and i don't think it'd be THAT much...i know a lot of people would say not to - but i still eat them and count about 6 carbs, i'm thinking MAYBE 6 tbsp...per 12 wings...

but it's a MUCH better choice than the honey bbq i used to get which has HFCS in it and like 15 g carbs per tbsp! ack! but bw's is our place we eat at - and CONSIDERING it used to be 8 boneless (breaded and fried) in a high sugar sauce - PLUS a basket of buffalo chips (fries) and instead now I get the 12 medium regular wings and a side salad...to me it's a fair trade off.

[not2late]

Re: ThickenThin??? anyone?

It doesn't need the cornstarch. Probably not even the egg yolk. It looks like this recipe is trying to mimic a bottled barbecue sauce thing, but Buffalo wing flavored.

Anyhow, traditional Franks wings recipe only separates if you melt the butter. If you heat the hot sauce and whisk in butter chunks---slowly adding the chunks one at a time and allowing it to melt completely before adding another chunk, the sauce will emulsify and won't separate.