Working with Xanthan Gum?

(Wade Minter) #1

I tend to like thicker sauces and gravies with my food, so I’ve been attempting to use xanthan gum as a thickener (replacing corn starch and flour). However, I haven’t been able to master it. When I sprinkle it into the liquid, it immediately clumps up. If I sprinkle lightly enough to prevent clumping, it takes forever to get enough into the liquid to have it thicken up. I’ve tried putting it into a smaller container with water and shaking (the way I used to make the flour thickener), but it just clumps up there as well.

Is there a better way to use it to thicken sauces and gravies that I don’t know about? My next attempt will be putting the powder and water into a magic bullet and trying to blend it up that way.

(betsy.rome) #2

Simple - you mix the xanthan with a small amount of oil, and add that to your recipe. No clumping.

(Diane) #3

If you are trying to thicken hot liquids, konjac flour (AKA glucomannan powder) works the most like flour or cornstarch. You just need a fraction of the amount, start at 1/2 tsp for 1 cup of liquid.

I found listening to episode 26 of the Ketovangelist Kitchen podcast on low carb thickeners really helpful.

(Pete) #4

I sprinkle half a teaspoon directly into the saucepan and stir it in. Never had the clumping problem people mention and it thickens up the sauce just the way I like it.

(Wade Minter) #5

Do you have any guidance on ratios? How much gum in how much oil?

(betsy.rome) #6

Ratio: about 1 tsp olive or avocado oil, to 1 tsp xanthan powder. Start slow, it can become slimy quickly if you use too much xanthan. Mix the xanthan into the oil – I use a small paper Dixie cup I can throw out later, as this mix is slimy & hard to wash out – start with half the xanthan / oil mixture, and mix it into the liquid you want to thicken. Give it a couple minutes to set up before adding more if it needs to be thicker, it will continue to get thick on standing.

If you are adding to a recipe that has dry ingredients, like almond flour, baking powder etc., add the xanthan to the dry ingredients.

(Brian) #7

Depending on what it is you’re trying to thicken, using some of the liquid along with your xanthan gum and running that through your magic bullet or similar device, and then adding your blended/mixed solution back into whatever it is might work pretty well.

I don’t use a lot of it but one of the places I do use a little is when I make my “pancake syrup” for the keto coconut flour pancakes we enjoy on Sunday mornings. I just use frozen berries which I will microwave for a couple of minutes. They produce a lot of juice when I do that. I put that into a tiny food processor to blend it all into a syrup. If I just do that, it’s very runny. A little sprinkle of xanthan gum thickens it up pretty nicely… that’s before it gets whizzed. For most of those syrups, I also add a little vanilla and usually a little stevia or eryrhritol. For blueberry, I’ll even add a touch of lemon juice, just because I can. :slight_smile: I’ve had no problem with clumping.

In another recipe I have, I am whisking and lightly sprinkling at the same time. That’s akin to patting the top of your head and rubbing your belly at the same time but with a little practice, you can probably do it. It takes a little while, like you said. And the whisking pattern would probably make for a bit of culinary comedy but I don’t care. :smiley:

Maybe for a savory sauce, oil or melted butter might be better, haven’t tried it yet.

Good luck!

(Chris Meservey) #8

This!

I did this just last night while thickening up some Broccoli Cheese soup. I added a tsp of the powder to about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and mixed well with a fork. Worked perfectly. Took about 2 of these small mixtures to get my pot of soup to the perfect consistency I was looking for.

(Beth) #9

I did just this last night, worked like a charm!