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consistency How to thicken the sauce?

uUu

uUu

I´ve made a tropical sauce that i have strained so there are no bits in it. This made the sauce a bit to runny. I´ve tried to use flour from corn and i didnt like consistency when it was cold. It became a bit like pudding at the top :rolleyes:

Is there anything natural that will thicken it? Potato flour?!

Im looking for a smooth sauce that is thick enough so it can be used in a normal bottle. I just want i slight thickening!

Im using juice from Peach as base, fresh tamarind, fresh pinapple, carrot purré, fresh onion. And i dont want the nasty fruit meat in it that does help the consistency to get firmer.
 
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if you dont' want to add anything else to it, you can try to cook it down a little more...
 
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if you don't want to add more onions or carrots, try xanthan gum (stillmanz originally told me about this but I've never used it). AJ's idea is probably the quickest and best, just remember that reducing the water content may boost the flavour and heat also.
 
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Just be careful with the Xanthan Gum, it can become a thick ball of white goo quite easily. Make sure you do a little homework on the proper usage of it. It's a good all-natural ingredient for thickening.
 
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I did cook it down about 50%!!! It was still runny since all the meat from the fruit was gone. And full of flavor!

Xantum Gum sounds risky! :lol:

Ok, is there anything unnatural that works good? I´ll only use a little :rolleyes:
 
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Don't!!!! Keep it natural! :rolleyes:

Xantham gum is not such a bad idea, just give it a test run with less precious ingredients first, so you know how to handle it. When you do, it's a god thickener.

You can also add more sugar and boil it down a bit again, but that'll make it sweete, of course...
 
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Cornstarch & water is a good one that thickens quickly, but you'd have to bring the liquid to a boil. I prefer arrowroot over cornstarch, but its harder to find. Basically you just make a slurry of about 1 TBSP cornstarch to a couple tsp COLD water, should be thick but liquid, add to boiling sauce and stir and thats it. Most styles of asian cooking use cornstarch slurry for thickening sauces.

Good luck man
 
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Chiliac said:
Don't!!!! Keep it natural! :)

Xantham gum is not such a bad idea, just give it a test run with less precious ingredients first, so you know how to handle it. When you do, it's a god thickener.

You can also add more sugar and boil it down a bit again, but that'll make it sweete, of course...
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Yes, of course i want to keep it natural!

Xantam gum isnt in every store around here. Its actually impossible to get without ordering from the internet :(

There must be some thickener that can found in every store!!!?
 
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Txclosetgrower said:
Cornstarch & water is a good one that thickens quickly, but you'd have to bring the liquid to a boil. I prefer arrowroot over cornstarch, but its harder to find. Basically you just make a slurry of about 1 TBSP cornstarch to a couple tsp COLD water, should be thick but liquid, add to boiling sauce and stir and thats it. Most styles of asian cooking use cornstarch slurry for thickening sauces.

Good luck man
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Cornstarch, that was what i used but i used the word "corn flour", because thats what it is if you translate it from swedish :) I didnt like the consistency from that when the sauce was cold!!!

I was fingering at arrow root at the store a couple of days ago when i had my mother over the phone and she said i should try Cornstarch instead.

Ill have a go with arrow, since i can find it easily! I want the sauce to be smooth, a bit thick and shiny!
 
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imaguitargod said:
Potatos are good and are everywhere...that'll help thicken it up.
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I´ll might try potatostarch(is it a word?). Dont use it to often. Think it was in kindergarden i used it the last time and the product ended up like chunky vomit. Hope i´m a better chef by now :hell:
 
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Txclosetgrower said:
Here's some arrowroot info:
http://www.barryfarm.com/nutri_info/thickeners/Arrowroot_powder.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrowroot

and here's a transcript from one of my favorite albeit slightly silly cooking shows, good eats. This episode is about sauces and it discusses the use of arrowroot as the host's favorite thickening agent:

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season8/sauce/sauce_trans.htm
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Arrow root sounds perfect!

I bought a jar of it on my way home from work.

I also found xatnham gum at a massage institute. I´ve only talked to them over the phone. They use it for making body lotions!

50 grams for $5. I´ll pick it up next wednesday when i go there for the $100 full body massage they sold me over the phone, lol!
That xantam gum ended up pretty expensive! :hell:
 
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Skydiver said:
My vote is for an apple. Wonderful taste, bit of sweetness and tartness, and the pectin will help thicken your sauce.
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Or just buy a packet of pectin at the market.

The thing about thickeners is you just have to use the tiniest amount and build up. Also remember that it won't be the same hot as it is when it's cold and make sure to mix ALOT.

Personally i've never had a runny sauce, but i never strain. I don't see the point.
 
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fineexampl said:
Or just buy a packet of pectin at the market.

The thing about thickeners is you just have to use the tiniest amount and build up. Also remember that it won't be the same hot as it is when it's cold and make sure to mix ALOT.

Personally i've never had a runny sauce, but i never strain. I don't see the point.
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The sauce is called "kiss of fatalii". I want it tropical, fruity, fresh, sexy & smooth and with killing a bite! :lol:

Thats why i want it smooth and shiny!
 
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uUu said:
The sauce is called "kiss of fatalii". I want it tropical, fruity, fresh, sexy & smooth and with killing a bite! :lol:

Thats why i want it smooth and shiny!
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One thing I noticed with putting an apple in my last good batch of sauce was that it seemed to brighten up the habanero taste.
 
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Skydiver said:
One thing I noticed with putting an apple in my last good batch of sauce was that it seemed to brighten up the habanero taste.
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That sounds good!

I had a go with arrow root yesterday and it totally failed. When arrow root boils for some time it goes from thick to thin. I didn´t realise it until it was to late :D I ended up with a runny bitter-chemical taste that reminds of hairspray!

3 liters of sauce made out of handpicked lingonberries and rocotos was wasted! :D

The first time i used arrow root result was ok, but then on the other hand, i did take it of the stove shortly after it got thick.

Don´t know if i dare to use it again. I cant afford to lose another batch of my handpicked treasures!
 
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