Do you know why humanity advances? Because you won't have to thicken a failed sauce as many times as I did when I learned how to make béchamel sauce . I've arrived at the perfect formula, my friends, after failing and succeeding several times. Experience is the mother of knowledge.
What? What's a load of rubbish, and someone else has already arrived ? Well... in the age of Google, experience is still the mother of knowledge, but stupidity is the only possible mother of experience.
How to thicken a sauce with cornstarch
there are a couple of little secrets
1. Dissolve the cornstarch in cold water
HOW MUCH CORNSTARCH SHOULD YOU USE?
If your sauce doesn't thicken, it may be because you didn't use enough cornstarch. The general rule is 1 tablespoon (a little bit of cornstarch) for every 2 cups of sauce. In other words, you won't thicken the sauce with cornstarch if you use one teaspoon in a whole pot.
HOW MUCH WATER TO USE TO DISSOLVE THE CORNSTARCH
Not much, about three or four times the amount of cornstarch. That is, if you used a tablespoon of cornstarch, dissolve it in about 3-4 tablespoons of water, which makes about half a glass, which is what I use.
COLD WATER IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISSOLVING THE CORNSTARCH.
The water you dissolve the cornstarch in should be neither warm nor hot. Otherwise, it won't thicken. The water that comes out of the tap (in my house) is usually enough, but never hot.
2. Stir the cornstarch with the spoon until it is completely integrated into the water.
DISSOLVE THE CORNSTARCH WELL IN THE WATER.
It's important to dissolve it completely, otherwise you'll end up with lumps. It may take a couple of minutes, but it will eventually dissolve.
3. Bring the sauce to a boil
Bring the sauce to a boil before adding the cornstarch.
4. Add the cornstarch and water mixture
I do it all together and I recommend doing it this way, not in parts: add the entire cornstarch and water mixture.
5. Reduce heat to MINIMUM and stir continuously.
We'll see that the sauce begins to thicken, always with the heat on low. You'll see this in the bubbles that begin to appear; that's when the sauce will look thick.
6. Remove the pot from the heat
WHEN TO REMOVE FROM HEAT
Once the sauce has the desired consistency, it is important not to leave it on the heat because otherwise it will continue to thicken.
Thanks for the tip, it's incredible that the package doesn't indicate how to do it.
Why is it that when I thicken a sauce that has sugar like tamarind etc. when the sauce cools it becomes like gelatin. What can be done to prevent this from happening?
I just finished reading your recommendation. I love how you explain it with Buenos Aires vocabulary. Did I get it right?
My dialect is Madrid Spanish, although I have Andalusian and Galician ancestry. The "big belly" part is brilliant; I've never said it that way, but it describes it perfectly.
By the way, I'm not a language scholar but an amateur cook.
I'll follow you!
Thank you!!! Very good and simple explanation… powerful!!!
Hi, does this recipe help thicken tripe or menudo broth? Thanks.
Thank you ?
Wow. That rump steak turned out so delicious. Thanks, brilliant. Have a great day. Blessings.
It's been a great help. Thank you very much. Greetings from Spain!
Hahaha, they say you learn by spoiling and it's true. I'm going to experiment with cornstarch.
Paulina, my love, as always! I followed the instructions and it turned out great. Thanks!!!
Thank you very much, it was very useful, I used it for the recipe for rump steak in a casserole dish, a dough!
Wow, look where I ended up... that's where I should have started looking... we'll try, and see if humanity continues to advance.
Good!
I always did it but let's agree that it's not the best way to do it.