Today, we are going to see together how to thicken a sauce. And yes… we’ve all had a sauce that’s too runny! Do not panic ! There’s no point throwing it away or remaking it. Did you know that there are simple and effective grandmother’s tips for thickening a sauce? Here are 15 quick and easy tips to make your sauce smooth and creamy . Look : Summary 1. With cornstarch 2. By making a beurre manié 3. By making a roux 4. With flaked puree 5. With breadcrumbs 6. With flour 7. With vegetable puree in pebbles 8. With powdered milk 9. With tomato paste 10. With beaten egg yolk 11. By reducing the sauce 12. With pasta water 13. With a Thermomix 14. How to thicken a cold sauce? 15. Vegan tips for thickening a sauce Conclusion + see more 1. With cornstarch It’s something our grandmothers know well. Cornstarch is very effective in thickening sauces . . It is also very simple to use. Simply put 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a bowl. Then pour a little cold water over it (1-2 tablespoons). Mix to dilute. Once well diluted, pour the mixture into the sauce. Please note that it must simmer over low heat. Then just stir until it thickens. The advantage is that this solution is not only very effective, but it is also gluten-free. And in my opinion, it is undoubtedly the simplest solution for thickening a wine sauce or veal marengo. To discover: 32 Uses of Cornstarch That Will Surprise You! 2. By making a beurre manié Butter handled … But what is this thing, you will ask me! Imagine that it is a mixture of butter and flour , quite simply. To make a Beurre Manié, you need 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour. Then simply mix them with your fingers. This allows you to obtain a homogeneous and smooth dough, without lumps. Little by little, we add this paste to the too liquid sauce, while mixing. Mix vigorously so that the beurre manié dissolves well. Then let it cook until the sauce thickens. This is undoubtedly the solution to thicken the sauce for osso buco. Why don’t we put all the butter in the dish at once? Because by adding it gradually, it gives time to test the consistency of the sauce. If you add it all at once and your sauce becomes too thick, there’s not much you can do… To discover: The Tip for Quickly Incorporating Butter into a Preparation. 3. By making a roux Another great kitchen classic, roux. Roux is prepared with flour and fat. We often use butter, but you may prefer to use oil or margarine. Now that you have the ingredients, you’re probably wondering how to make a roux . Nothing complicated about that. You need as much flour as fat. For example, you can take 70 g of flour and 70 g of butter. Start by melting the butter. Then add the flour. Mix without stopping for several minutes (between 5 and 10 minutes). You will get a paste. Let it cool and add it to the too liquid sauce. Mix again. Leave to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until your sauce has the desired density. Roux is ideal for thickening the sauce of a stew , a bourguignon, a stew, a stew or a beef bourguignon. The downside is that you shouldn’t be in too much of a hurry. The good news is that you can make a roux in advance and freeze it. Also note that roux is the base of béchamel sauce . Do you like this trick ? Receive the best ones every morning. It’s free. No spam, promised, sworn, spit! Join us Already 3 million readers! 4. With flaked puree This tip is a well-kept secret! We all know mashed potato flakes (Mousseline type). Well, they are very effective in thickening a sauce that is too thin. Since they are dehydrated, they have a pretty impressive thickening power . Besides, you shouldn’t add too much at once to test the texture of your sauce as you go. Heat your sauce over low heat and pour a tablespoon of flakes into it. Mix well until the sauce has set. This is a trick you can use to thicken a coconut milk sauce that is too thin. 5. With breadcrumbs You probably know breadcrumbs to make beautiful golden breadcrumbs. Well, it gets even better! Did you know that it can be used to thicken a sauce ? It’s very easy ! Just sprinkle a little breadcrumbs on the sauce as it continues to simmer. Add it little by little. Stir to mix well. Is your sauce thick enough? Then you can stop. Otherwise, you can add a little more. Don’t have any breadcrumbs? It’s not serious. You can put stale bread or rusks in a blender to make very fine crumbs and have homemade breadcrumbs. To discover: How to Make Free Homemade Breadcrumbs? 6. With flour Flour is a simple solution for thickening a sauce. But it’s not a question of throwing your flour just like that in the sauce. Otherwise, it will make lots of lumps! Scoop a ladleful of your sauce and put it in a bowl. Let it cool. Then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour. Mix well and pour the contents of the bowl into the sauce. Mix again and simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens. You can use wheat or rice flour (or any starch). 7. With vegetable puree in pebbles The principle is the same as with potato flakes. But here, we are going to use frozen vegetable puree that we find in the form of pebbles. The ideal is to choose a vegetable puree that is included in your dish. For example, carrot puree goes well with tomato sauce or beef bourguignon. Once you have chosen your puree, add a pebble or a spoonful of puree to the sauce. Stir and check the texture of your sauce. If it is not yet thick enough, add a little puree. But beware ! Keep in mind that this solution may change the taste of your sauce . 8. With powdered milk Powdered milk is the perfect thing for thickening a crème fraîche-based sauce, for example: Creamy chicken , chicken Stroganoff , Normandy escalopes or gratin dauphinois… In short, this is the tip you need to make a white sauce, carbonara or a Roquefort sauce, Gorgonzola or any other cheese sauce creamy! To thicken your sauce, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of powdered milk to the sauce. Stir so the sauce thickens. If it is still not thick enough, add a little more powdered milk. The good news is that the taste of milk is neutral. It will not distort your sauce. 9. With tomato paste Are you making a tomato coulis and it is definitely too liquid? Take some tomato paste and add it to your sauce. Your bolo sauce will thicken and keep its authentic taste . It’s simple, fast and effective. This is also what I use to thicken the sauce for chili con carne. , a too liquid couscous sauce, osso buco sauce or a meat sauce. And it works well for a curry too. 10. With beaten egg yolk Can you thicken a sauce with egg yolk? The answer is yes ! This is a good technique for thickening a sauce and giving it a nice coating texture. It’s even a magical trick for having lasagna that’s not too liquid ! To do this, separate the white from the egg yolk using this tip . Put it in a bowl and beat it with a fork. Add 1 or 2 spoons of the sauce and mix. Then pour the mixture into the sauce which cooks over low heat. Mix gently with a wooden spoon. This is the method to use to thicken the sauce for a blanquette of veal or a béarnaise or gribiche sauce. But be careful not to put the egg yolk directly into the sauce. The yolk could cook and it would form lumps. However, you can use several egg yolks. And if you don’t know what to do with the blanks, here are some ideas for reusing them. 11. By reducing the sauce A simple tip for thickening a sauce that is too liquid is to simmer it for a long time. Logical, you might say. If a sauce is too thin, it means it contains too much water. All you have to do is make sure the water evaporates. How ? Very simple. Just bring it to a boil. Like this, your sauce reduces, that is to say it decreases in volume. It becomes more concentrated and its flavors are even more pronounced . You can also let it simmer on low heat for a long time. You will get the same result, but it will take longer. This tip is ideal for Bolognese, Provençal sauces or a meatball stew for example. Of course, you have to take into account that there will be less sauce in the end. So, it is always better to prepare more tomato sauce. If there is too much, you can always freeze it . But that’s not all… This technique is also perfectly suited to thickening a teriyaki sauce that is too liquid. Let it simmer longer than expected to obtain a delicious syrupy sauce. Same thing with barbecue sauce . However, if you have molasses , you can add a spoonful of it to give your sauce more consistency. 12. With pasta water If you’re making a tomato sauce, chances are you’re cooking pasta, right? So here is a little cooking secret from Italian mamas. They use pasta water to thicken the sauce . Thanks to the starch in pasta water, it makes an excellent thickener for the sauce. Perfect for your spaghetti sauce! Find out how to do it here. 13. With a Thermomix Do you have a Thermomix? Did you know that it can be of great help to you in making up your sauce ? Here’s how : Mix a spoonful of cornstarch with a little water or sauce. Pour this mixture and all the sauce into the robot bowl. Mix everything for 1 min at speed 4. For a tomato sauce, you can add a teaspoon of tomato paste to your sauce. And mix everything for 1 min at speed 4. Easy and quick! Note that it also works with a Cookeo. 14. How to thicken a cold sauce? If your cold sauce is too liquid, you have several options: You can use gelatin first . To do this, take a sheet of gelatin . Put a little water in a bowl and immerse the gelatin sheet in it to soften it. Take a little sauce and heat it until it simmers. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the gelatin leaf. Then refrigerate so that the gelatin sets. Please note that you need 1 sheet of gelatin for 25 cl of sauce. You can also choose agar-agar . It is a very effective natural gelling agent . It must be directly incorporated into the preparation. As it is very powerful, you need to use very little. A knife tip is enough. Next, heat your sauce until it is simmering. Allow around thirty seconds. And place the sauce in the fridge. Last option, guar gum . Its use is very simple . You have to put it directly in the sauce and put it in the fridge! Allow 1 teaspoon of agar-agar for 50 cl of sauce. The advantage of these 3 thickeners is that they are tasteless. They do not change the taste of your preparations. They work well in desserts like custard or fruit coulis. To discover: 21 Grandma’s Tips To Make Your Pastries Successful Every Time. 15. Vegan tips for thickening a sauce Are you vegan? So most of these solutions will not suit you. On the other hand, you can use walnuts, almonds or cashews to thicken your sauces. They are also used in Indian cuisine to thicken the delicious korma sauce. Put them in a blender to make a puree. Add this puree to your sauce and mix vigorously. Conclusion And there you have it, you now know how to make up for a too liquid sauce 🙂 Easy, quick and effective, right? Obviously, you can always use a commercial thickener, such as Knorr or cornstarch . These are powders that thicken your sauce. They are effective, but we don’t always have them on hand. And you never really know what’s in these sauce bases . Whereas with these grandmother’s tips, you know exactly what you’re doing.
