I learnt something new today. In a YouTube video, Jack Bishop, from America’s Test Kitchen shared information on how he mixed pectin and cornstarch creates a hybrid thickener that doesn’t weep nor separate in pies, gravy’s etc. Who knew! Maybe this is in alignment with what is called, ‘molecular gastronomy’. This is the science of understanding the physical and chemical reactions and the transformation that takes place during the cooking process. Note: molecular gastronomy isn’t about the creation of recipes. Has anyone tried this? And if so, what ratios did you use and what did you think of the results.
I have four different types of starches in my pantry. Corn, tapioca, potato and E-Z Gel. When thickening things like sweet chili sauce, tapioca produces a clear end product. Potato creates a translucent velvety glossy sauce and light crispy crunchy exterior when sautéed, pan or deep fried. Corn starch, which is my least favorite, is the all-round work horse. Tapioca, corn, and potato starches require heat and liquid to activate them and should be mixed in cold water to create a slurry before use. Or cooked with fat the same way you’d make a roux.
One of my favorite thickeners when cooking savory dishes is potato starch. But like most thickeners that have not been modified, if overcooked they turn watery. This is what happen when I cooked my seafood pie with puff pastry. It was a tad to watery for me. What I should have used was a modified starch or xanthan gum, which I can only tolerate in small quantitates. I discover that fact about myself and xanthan gum when experimenting with gluten free bread making several years ago.
When cooking, it’s important to know what your starches can do and how they’ll react with acids, sugars, oil, water, heat and cold, including freezing. I thought the potato starch would have provided me with the viscosity that I wanted to achieve for the cream-based sauce in my seafood pie. But that didn’t happen. I could have used a béchamel sauce, but I didn’t want to do that. I needed a starch that wouldn’t break, turning watery or lose its viscosity during the baking process. I needed a modified food starch or xanthan gum.
Modified Food Starches
If you read a food label and you see an E, followed by numbers e.g., E1404, you are on the way to consuming a modified food starch. Starches are made of tapioca, corn, maze, potato, rice and wheat. Starches are used across the food industry to gelatinize, stabilize, thicken, hydrate, freeze, extend shelf life and texturize manufactured foods.
Starches are modified to enhance their performance in different applications. Modified starches are created by physically, enzymatically or chemically treating the raw starch. This changes its naturally occurring properties and enhances their performance in different applications. It increases stability against excessive heat, the use of acid, shearing or mixing, cooling, or freezing. It also can be used to change textures; to decrease or increase viscosity; to lengthen or shorten gelatinization time; or to increase their visco-stability and much more.
On Amazon, you can purchase modified starches like Clear Jell or E-Z Gel for fruit pies, ice creams, soups, breads, cookies, savory pies, gravy’s, jams, canning etc. My preference is E-Z Gel, because it can be use in both hot and cold applications and it doesn’t require heat or cooking to activate the thickening process. And it really does make a difference. Simply because when used in foods that are refrigerated or frozen, it doesn’t turn them into a weeping or watery congealed blob, when defrosted or brought back to room temperature.
I’ve just had a thought. I’ve never used E-Z Gel in my breading process when making orange shrimp, or honey walnut lobster or medallions of salmon etc. Umm, I wonder how that will turnout. I guess there’s only one way to find out. I’ll keep you posted.
For a greater understanding about each starch checkout this brilliant vlog by Adam Ragusea