Often liquid preparations, such as soups and sauces, need to be thickened with the help of an additional ingredient. There are several thickening ingredients, but cornstarch is by far the easiest and fastest to use. To thicken a liquid preparation with cornstarch, you need to create a mixture, cook it and make small changes to the recipe when necessary.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Mix the Water and Corn Starch
Step 1. Pour one tablespoon (15g) of cornstarch into 60ml of cold water
Pour cold water into a cup or small bowl, then add a tablespoon of cornstarch. By mixing you will get a mixture with a medium density. If you need it to be thicker or more fluid, slightly increase or decrease the amount of cornstarch.
- Corn starch blends best with cold water.
- You can experiment to find the desired density. Don't worry if the mixture is too thick, you can later dilute it with water.
Step 2. Stir the mixture with the whisk
It is important that it is smooth and homogeneous, otherwise it could ruin the consistency of the soup or sauce you want to thicken. Mix it thoroughly with a whisk and make sure it is totally free of lumps.
Step 3. Test the consistency of the mixture
It must be dense to be able to perform its function as a thickener. Take a small amount with a spoon and let it slowly fall back into the bowl to evaluate its density. Alternatively, you can add it to a small portion of soup or sauce and examine the result.
Part 2 of 3: Cook the Blend
Step 1. Cook the cornstarch mixture to have more control over the preparation to be thickened
If you cook it before adding it to soup or sauce, you will be able to achieve the desired result more easily. Cooking it alone is no different from cooking it after adding it to the preparation to be thickened, the steps are mostly the same. The only difference is that you will pour the mixture into an empty pot and then incorporate it into the preparation to be thickened when it has started to boil.
- The soup or sauce to thicken should be hot when you add the hot mixture.
- You will be able to better control the density of the preparation because you will only be able to add the amount of starch that is really needed.
Step 2. Add the raw mixture to the thickening recipe if you want to fix the problem faster
This is an even simpler and faster alternative, but in this case it is necessary to be sure that the preparation in question is actually too liquid. The raw cornstarch mixture should therefore be added only when there are a few minutes before the cooking time has expired.
Step 3. Turn on the stove over medium heat
The sauce (or soup) should be mixed thoroughly and heated until it begins to simmer. Be careful not to use too high a flame, otherwise the ingredients may separate. For the cornstarch to do its job effectively, the liquid to be thickened needs to simmer gently, so adjust the heat to medium.
If you want to cook the cornstarch mixture before adding it to the preparation to be thickened, pour it into a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat
Step 4. Wait for the sauce (or soup) to start boiling
From then on, set the kitchen timer for 5-10 minutes and adjust the heat so that the sauce simmers gently. The corn starch will do its job and cause it to gradually thicken. If it hasn't reached the desired consistency after 5-10 minutes, let it cook longer.
Step 5. Stir for another two minutes
Use a suitable stirring utensil, such as a wooden spoon, when the sauce (or soup) begins to boil. Stir for a couple of minutes so that the cornstarch has time to cook completely, then remove the pot from the heat.
Part 3 of 3: Complete the Process
Step 1. Check the consistency of the preparation to be thickened
Take a spoon and check if it has reached the desired density. Let it cool for a couple of minutes if you want to taste it to make sure it has the right consistency. If the taste and density satisfy you, you can serve it on the table. If not, you can dilute it with water or add more starch to make it thicken further.
Step 2. Dilute the preparation with water
If the starch has made it too thick, you can make it fluid again by adding a little water. Add 50ml at a time and taste to see if you need more.
It will probably need to be mixed and reheated after adding the water
Step 3. Add more starch to the recipe
If you taste it and you notice that the sauce (or soup) is not yet thick enough, you can add more cornstarch. Simply repeat the process, but use a little less water and cornstarch than you originally used. Keep in mind that repeating the process too many times can ruin the recipe due to repeated use of heat.
Step 4. Alter the taste of the preparation if necessary
Among the thickening agents, corn starch is one of those with the lowest fat content. Fat often lends flavor to dishes, so tasting the sauce (or soup) after thickening it with starch, you may find that it is less flavorful. If so, add extra seasonings or ingredients to make it taste more pleasant.
It is better to make small, gradual changes to avoid the preparation being too salty or creating an imbalance between the flavors
Advice
It is also possible to thicken a liquid with flour, potato starch, maranta starch or a roux
Warnings
- Be careful when heating the liquid preparation to thicken and do not touch it as it boils.
- Let the soup or sauce cool before tasting it.
