Thickening Agents

Table of Contents

Starches
Cornstarch
Arrowroot
Potato starch
Flour
Roux
White roux
Blond roux
Brown roux
How to combine roux and liquid
Beurre Manie
Fruit and vegetable puree
Yolk
Cream
Butter
Blood
Thickening agents give body, consistency, and palatability when used. They also improve the
nutritive value of the sauce. Flavored liquids are thickened and converted into soups, sauces,
gravies, and curries, etc. In other words, binding agents are used to transforming the stocks
into sauces.

There are various types of thickening agents, which are used in modern-day cookery. They
are as follows:

Starches
Flour
Roux
Beurre Manie
Fruit and Vegetable Puree
Egg yolk
Cream
Butter

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 Thickening Agents

Blood
Starches
Starches derived from roots and vegetables are among the oldest and the most versatile
thickener for sauces. They are efficient and inexpensive and that they can be used without
imparting a flavor of their own.

Starches should be combined with liquid and heated to almost boiling temperature to be
effective. Some starches are purer than others. Cornstarch, arrowroot starch, and potato
starch are almost pure starches and produce shiny sauces, whereas flour contains protein,
which gives a mat appearance to the sauces.

Cornstarch
Of the purified starches, cornstarch is the most familiar. They should be used at the last
minute for the thickening of the sauces and the cooking liquid that is being served. When it is
cooked for a long time then it loses its thickening power. Cornstarch is first mixed in water
and then used to thicken the sauces and soups.

Arrowroot
Arrowroot is the best of the purified starches because it remains stable even after prolonged
cooking. It is used the same way as cornstarch.

Potato starch
Although potato starch is one of the first starches to be used in French cooking, it has never
been popular as a sauce thickener. It is used the same way as the cornstarch and like
cornstarch, it tends to break down after prolonged exposure to heat.

Flour
In western cooking, flour has long been the most popular thickener for the sauces. It can be
used in several ways. Although flour has largely been replaced in recent years by other
thickeners. It is still the appropriate choice for many country style and regional dishes. The
liquid in which flour is to be added must be degreased before the flour is incorporated. Flour
binds with lamb and holds it in suspension throughout the liquid, making it difficult to skim.
The result is a greasy, indigestible sauce with a muddy texture and flavor.

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 Thickening Agents

Roux
The most common method of thickening liquids with flour is to prepare a roux, by cooking the
flour with an equal weight of butter. This enhances the flavor of the flour and eliminates the
lumps. Because flour contains proteins and other compounds that impart flavor, sauces
thickened with roux are usually skimmed for thirty minutes once they have been brought to
simmer to eliminate the impurities. Although the stock is skimmed before the roux is added,
further the sauce is skimmed to eliminate the butter, impurities in the flour.

There are three types of roux:

White roux
Blonde roux
Brown roux
White roux
It is prepared by cooking flour and clarified butter for approx. 5 minutes over slow heat and
stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. It is used for Béchamel sauce and thick soups.

Blond roux
It is made from fresh butter and flour. The preparation of butter and flour is the same as for
white roux. It is made more rapidly and should be made at the last before using it. Its color
should be pale gold. It is used for volute sauce and some soups.

Brown roux
cooking the flour in bouillon fat in the oven, gently and for a long time, removing from time to
time to stir, makes it. This roux should be light brown. It is used for brown sauce and
demiglace.

How to combine roux and liquid

When you have a hot roux, combining it with a liquid is a two-step process. In step 1, you add
part of your liquid, cold to the hot roux, blending it in with a whisk. In step 2 you blend in the
rest of the liquid hot.
When you have cold roux, you can combine it with hot liquid, overheat, by blending it in with
a whisk a little at a time.
Do not try to combine hot roux with hot liquid and cold roux with cold liquid.

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 Thickening Agents

Beurre Manie
Like roux, beurre manie contains an equal part by weight of butter and flour. It differs from
roux because it is not cooked and is usually added at the end of the sauce’s cooking rather
than at the beginning. It is most often used to thicken stews at the end of the cooking when
the braising liquid is too thin.

The beurre manie should be added little by little in boiling stock whisking continuously so
that lumps do not form. Unlike roux, the beurre manie should not be cooked once the sauce
is thickened otherwise the sauce will a floury taste. One of the peculiarities of flour is that
develops a strong floury taste after two minutes of cooking that begins to disappear as the
cooking progresses.

Fruit and vegetable puree

Some times fruit and vegetable puree is used in thickening sauces and soups. Puree soups
are the best example of the same.

Yolk
Because they thicken sauces in several ways, egg yolks are versatile liason. They provide a
base for emulsified sauces, such as mayonnaise and hollandaise, and are used in conjunction
with cream to finish the cooking liquid of poached meats and fish. Not only form an emulsion
of fat and liquid but also combines with air so that they be used for sabayon sauce.

Sauces containing yolk should not be boiled unless they contain flour, which stabilizes them.
When combining the egg yolk with liquids, be sure to combine some of the liquid separately
before returning the mixture to the saucepan. If the egg yolks are added directly into the hot
liquid then they are liable to coagulate as soon as they get in contact with the heat.

Cream
In recent years thickened cream has replaced roux as the thickener, becoming base for white
sauces.

Precaution should be taken in reducing cream. Quick whisk should be given to the cream
otherwise they become granular and may break. Always use a large saucepan, three times
the volume of the cream otherwise flames from the sides can discolor the cream.

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 Thickening Agents

Whenever cream is used, as a thickener in a wine-based sauce, are sure to reduce the wine
otherwise they giving an unpleasant flavor. The cream used in conjunction with egg yolk,
butter, and flour gives a better result.

Butter
When butter is whisked into a hot liquid, it forms an emulsion, similar to the action of egg
yolk. The milk solids and proteins contained in the butter acts as an emulsifier and give
butter sauce their sheen and consistency. Because the milk solids in the butter are what
maintain the emulsion, sauces and cooking liquids cannot be thickened with clarified butter.
In fact, cold butter is proffered to hot butter in the thickening of the sauces.

Blood
Blood has long been used in cooking to finish sauces for a braised or roasted game, poultry,
or rabbit. Blood not only deepens the sauce’s flavor but also acts as a thickener. The blood
must be mixed with a little amount of vinegar to avoid coagulation.

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