Psyllium husk tastes like sand

(Katha) #1

I have used Psyllium husks in a few recipes as a binding agent to replace gluten by now. Last night the recipe demanded boiling water to add to the dry ingredients and I thought that might make a difference, but it did not. The psyllium husk always gives the product a sandy texture, which is really off putting to me. Are there any tricks to get past that?

#2

Yeah. I have the same issue with the grit factor. I have never really thought of it as a binding ingredient though, more as a thickener/gel agent. It does work well for this. I did have a recipe for psyllium husk noodles (basically psyllium husk, egg and water) which made lovely looking noodles with great texture mostly…that were inedible due to grittiness.
I did find a really,really finely ground one (bob’s mill brand (?)I think)which wasn’t so problematical. But still wasn’t perfect(still some tiny grittiness- I am very sensitive to gritty texture) for the noodle recipe. Sigh. I gave up on that recipe.
I do however use psyllium (the coarse ground-can’t get the fine stuff anymore) in my low carb bread recipe (a quite small amount )and I don’t detect grit in that.
So. Looks like the grit depends on fineness of grind and the context/concentration it is used in. For me anyway

(Edith) #3

Is there a substitute for the psyllium husk that can be used instead?

Edith

(Allie) #4

I wonder if it would help to grind it some more in a Nutribullet type thing? I do this with almond flour to make it finer.

(Sophie) #5

I make small quantities of psyllium powder in my coffee grinder…a few tsps at a time, and when you add liquid you have to let that stuff sit for several minutes to absorb. Don’t know if that helps.

#6

Like JustPeachy said, try buying powder (which is more expensive though) or grind the husks in an electric coffee grinder. This helps with the gritty texture.

(KCKO, KCFO) #7

Flaxseed meal should work in most recipes. Either is going to give some texture, but flaxseed is usually lighter to begin with, so should be slightly less noticeable. You can also regrind flaxseed meal, but it can clump up then due to the fat in it.

(M C) #8

I too generally do not like the texture. I find that if I put it in a coffee grinder and blitz it VERY small it helps, but still not perfect. For the most part I end up just not picking recipes that have it in it. If you are wanting to take it for the fiber aspect stick with the caplets.

Doh ketolicious beat me with the idea. Great minds think alike :slight_smile:

(Katha) #9

The one I bought is already powder and it was quite expensive, but I will give it a try grinding it even finer. I also wonder if I could substitute with xantham gum. I read it’s being used in low carb breads.

(Alex Lockhart) #10

Hi, I realise that this was quite a while back but did you have any luck reducing the grittiness?