Thickening & Blending N5 HPC

Learning Intentions To understand the function of a thickening agent To be aware of consequences (e.g. too thick/too runny) when using a thickener

Arrowroot This starch thickener has several advantages over cornflour. It has a more neutral flavour, so it's a good thickener for delicately flavoured sauces. It also works at a lower temperature, and tolerates acidic ingredients and prolonged cooking better. Sauces thickened with cornflour turn into a spongy mess if they're frozen, those made with arrowroot can be frozen and thawed more easily The downside is that arrowroot is pricier than cornflour, and it's not a good thickener for dairy-based sauces, since it turns them slimy.

Cornflour This silky powder is used to thicken sauces, gravies, and puddings. Like other starch thickeners, cornflour should be mixed into a slurry with an equal amount of cold water before it's added to the hot liquid you're trying to thicken. You then need to simmer the liquid, stirring constantly, for a minute or so until it thickens. Cornflour doesn't stand up to freezing or prolonged cooking, and it doesn't thicken well when mixed with acidic liquids. Don't confuse cornflour with the finely ground cornmeal that Americans call corn flour (may have heard of it on cooking programmes).

Flour Flour is a good thickener for gravies and stews, since it gives them a smooth, velvety texture. It's best to mix it with fat first, either by making a roux (e.g. in Macaroni Cheese) or by flouring and frying stew meat before adding a liquid to the pot. If you wish to cut fat from your diet, you can instead mix the flour with water and add it to the sauce, but you'll need to cook it for quite a while to get rid of the starchy, raw flour taste. Sauces thickened with flour become opaque, and they may become thin again if they're cooked too long or if they're frozen and then thawed

Task – Walk About Talk About! Using the information we have just discussed and the additional resources provided by your teacher, complete the following; WATAB – name of product, its advantages and disadvantages, possible dishes to use it in You have 10 minutes at each station to write down and add as much information as you can Each group must write in a different colour!! Afterwards, discuss your findings as a class