Thickening agents, or thickeners, are substances which, when added to the mixture, increase its viscosity without substantially modifying its other properties, like eg. taste. They provide body, increase stability, and improve suspending action. Thickening agents are often food additives. The pitch drop experiment at the University of Queensland. ... Taste is one of the most common and fundamental of the senses of animals. ... The word stability has a number of technical meanings, all related to the common meaning of the word. ... Flour suspended in water In chemistry, a suspension is a dispersion (mixture) in which a finely-divided species is combined with another species, with the former being so finely divided and mixed that it doesnt rapidly settle out. ... Jump to: navigation, search It has been suggested that Colorings be merged into this article or section. ...

Thickeners are frequently based on polysaccharides (starches or vegetable gums) or proteins (egg yolks, demi-glaces, collagen). Polysaccharides (sometimes called glycans) are relatively complex carbohydrates. ... Starch is a complex carbohydrate which is insoluble in water. ... The primary purpose of an egg yolk is to serve as the food source for the developing embryo inside the egg. ... Demi-glace is a type of brown sauce common to the culinary industry. ... Collagen is the main protein of connective tissue. ...

Common examples are agar, alginin, arrowroot, collagen, cornstarch, fecula, gelatin, guar gum, katakuri, locust bean gum, pectin, roux, tapioca, and xanthan gum. Agar is a galactose polymer (or agarose) obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae or seaweed (Sphaerococcus euchema) and species of Gelidium, chiefly from eastern Asia and California. ... Alginin is an edible natural gum obtained from kelp, mainly the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera. ... Binomial name Maranta arundinacea L. Arrowroot (or obedience plant, Maranta arundinacea) is a large perennial herb of genus Maranta, found in rainforest habitats. ... Collagen is the main protein of connective tissue. ... Products made out of cornstarch Cornstarch is the starch of the maize grain, commonly known as corn. ... Fecula is a flavourless starchy ingredient amylaceous and pulverised, extracted from vegetables like tubers, rhizomes, seeds used for cooking as a food thickener. ... Gelatin (also gelatine) is a translucent brittle solid substance, colorless or slightly yellow, nearly tasteless and odorless, which is created by prolonged boiling of animal skin and connective tissue. ... Guar gum is an edible thickening agent extracted from the guar bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba). ... Katakuri or Katakuriko (片栗粉) is a name of starch originally processed from the root of Erythronium japonicum or katakuri (片栗). ... Locust bean gum (European Union additive number E410) is a galactomannan vegetable gum extracted from the seeds of the Carob tree. ... Pectin is a heterosaccharide derived from the cell wall of plants. ... Roux is a mixture of wheat flour and fat. ... Tapioca is an essentially flavourless starchy ingredient, or fecula, produced from treated and dried cassava (manioc) root and used in cooking. ... A polysaccharide used as a food additive and rheology modifier. ...

Flour is often used for thickening gravies, gumbos and stews. Roux, a mixture of flour and fat, is used for gravies and stews. Cereal grains (oatmeal, couscous, farina...) are used to thicken soups. Yoghurt is popular in Eastern Europe and Middle East for thickening soups. Soups can also be thickened by grated starchy vegetables. Egg yolks have rich flavor and offer velvetty smooth texture, but are tricky to use. Pectin is used as gelling agent for jams and jellies. Other thickeners used by cooks are nuts, or glaces made of meat or fish. Look up flour on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Gravy is a thickened sauce, usually made from a base of the juices and extractives that run from meat during cooking. ... A bowl of shrimp gumbo Gumbo (from a Central Bantu word meaning okra) is a spicy, hearty stew or soup, found typically in the states on the Gulf of Mexico in the United States, and very common in the southern part of Louisiana. ... A stew is a common food made of vegetables and meat in some sort of broth or sauce. ... Roux is a mixture of wheat flour and fat. ... Oatmeal is a product made by processing oats. ... Couscous grains Couscous (from Maghreb Arabic kuskusu, which is from Tamazight seksu) is a food which consists of grains made from semolina which are about 1mm or 1/16th inch in diameter (after cooking). ... The name farina is used in a number of circumstances: Farina (from the Italian for flour) is a bland-tasting meal made from cereal grains. ... Soup is a savoury liquid food that is made by boiling ingredients, such as meat, vegetables and beans in stock or hot water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth. ... Yoghurt or yogurt, less commonly yoghourt or yogourt, is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. ... The primary purpose of an egg yolk is to serve as the food source for the developing embryo inside the egg. ... Pectin is a heterosaccharide derived from the cell wall of plants. ... Jam from berries Jam is a type of fruit preserve made by boiling fruit with sugar to make an unfiltered jelly. ... Jelly is a sweet or savoury food gel, usually made through the addition of gelatin or pectin. ... Jump to: navigation, search Hazelnuts from the Common Hazel Chestnuts // Botanical definition A nut in botany is a simple dry fruit with one seed (rarely two) in which the ovary wall or part of it becomes very hard (stony or woody) at maturity. ... Demi-glace is a type of brown sauce common to the culinary industry. ... Jump to: navigation, search Meat is animal tissue (mainly muscle) used as food. ... Jump to: navigation, search Groups Conodonta Hyperoartia Petromyzontidae (lampreys) Pteraspidomorphi (early jawless fish) Thelodonti Anaspida Cephalaspidomorphi (early jawless fish) Galeaspida Pituriaspida Osteostraci Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) Placodermi Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) Acanthodii Osteichthyes (bony fish) Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) Actinistia (coelacanths) Dipnoi (lungfish) A fish is a poikilothermic...

For acidic foods arrowroot is better choice than cornstarch, which loses thickening potency when mixed with acids. Cornstarch is also worse choice than tapioca or arrowroot when the food is to be frozen, as frozen cornstarch becomes spongy. Binomial name Maranta arundinacea L. Arrowroot (or obedience plant, Maranta arundinacea) is a large perennial herb of genus Maranta, found in rainforest habitats. ... Products made out of cornstarch Cornstarch is the starch of the maize grain, commonly known as corn. ...

Avoid overcooking. Some starches, when cooked for too long or at too high temperature, degrade and lose thickening potential.

See also:

• Cook's thesaurus: Thickeners