Topic: Gravy granules?

[Baccy Man]

Jeannine with gravy granules you add hot water then stir, it is a slightly faster way of making gravy although the taste doesn't come close to a proper home made gravy. Many people have grown up with Bisto™ which has been around since 1908 therefore it is what they are used to or they think it is difficult to make gravy so they simply don't try, if they do make it and find out how quick and simple it is & how much better it tastes they don't buy gravy granules again.

Susiebelle if that recipe suits your taste then thats all that counts, it would certainly taste different to marmite as you are basing it on sesame rather than yeast. If you bought some cheap yeast extract from a healthfood shop you would just need to flavour it to produce your own marmite it would be an option for anyone who doesn't brew their own beer or is unsure about how autolysis works.

[Susiebelle]

Hi BaccyMan - you are right I don't even know what Autolysis is let alone how it works however as a vegetarian Sesame when taken concentrated as in Tahini gives me a good blast of calcium together with all the vitamin B in the Miso gives me a good start to the day, so its a good veggie supplement as well as tasting good.

[Baccy Man]

Autolysis is essentially the yeast cells self-destructing.
You would start with a yeast solution namely the sludge from the bottom of the beer barrel probably combined with any froth from the top. Adding salt to the yeast solution makes it hypertonic which leads to the yeast cells shrivelling up which in turn  triggers a process called autolysis, in which the yeast cells self-destruct rupturing the cell walls in the process. Then the dying yeast cells are heated to complete their breakdown. All you have to do then is separate out the husks (yeast have big thick cell walls which wouldn't do the texture of the marmite much good), and you've got yeast extract, flavour it & you have marmite.

In very simple terms the process goes yeast+salt+heat then filter & flavour = Marmite

[Susiebelle]

Thank you - that helps

[Susiebelle]

I should say "you must be in Brewing" hopefully it's of the "Real Ale" kind!

[Hyacinth]

Hi BaccyMan - you are right I don't even know what Autolysis is

That's what I googled :-[ ;D

All really fascinating stuff 8) and nothing's changed my mind about gravy granules ;D

[isbister]

I'll just throw in my 2p worth for a vegetarian gravy:

Chop very small
Onion, mushroom, carrot,a litle bit of fresh chilly, anything else you've got hanging around in the fridge
Fry til soft in olive oil or butter
Add water, marmite, soy sauce, miso, tomato ketchup, veg worcester sauce, bit of red wine or sherry
Bubble for a bit then blend with one of those hand mixer things
Thicken with arrowroot.
Make a lot - it keeps for days

Incidentally I've just come across a reduced salt marmite type of thing called Toast Topper, there's a picture of that chef - the hairy one, on the bottle - it's quite nice really...

[Susiebelle]

Sounds good isbister I'll be trying that this week!

[telboy]

I'm ignorant isbister,
I didn't know that veggies eat butter?
 ???

[Fork]

Meat juices, thickened with a roux or cornflour and if you must a wee bit of gravy browning for colour,,,,,,,,,,gravy granules.........why? are they better/easier Can someone enlighten me please XX Jeannine

My wife is coeliac so no amount of flour will be on the agenda......thats the reason why we use a certain brand of granule that is gluten free

[Baccy Man]

My wife is coeliac so no amount of flour will be on the agenda......thats the reason why we use a certain brand of granule that is gluten free

Amaranth flour, brown rice flour, buckwheat flour, gram flour, cornflour, millet flour, potato flour, potato starch, quinoa flour, sorghum flour, soya flour and white rice flour are all both gluten & wheat free. There are numerous branded gluten free blended flours available as well. If you check the ingredients on your granules you will probably find they use potato starch but white rice flour is more commonly used in homemade gluten free gravy.

Hi BaccyMan - you are right I don't even know what Autolysis is

That's what I googled :-[ ;D

All really fascinating stuff 8) and nothing's changed my mind about gravy granules ;D

While googling did you spot the connection between yeast extract & MSG?

[euronerd]

While googling did you spot the connection between yeast extract & MSG?

Sorry to barge in. Do you mean its high concentration Baccy Man? Working from memory here, but isn't Parmesan another one? I'm afraid I'm a defender of MSG although I don't use it in any great quantity

Geoff.

[Baccy Man]

Yes I was referring to the free glutomates.
yeast extract has 1960mg of free glutomates per 100g, parmesan has 1200mg per 100g.
Soy sauce, beef extract, chicken extract, powdered eggs & milk powder are  other high ones.
I use msg myself with no ill effects but some people do seem to have reactions to it those people also tend to react to foods with high levels of free glutomates yet they are fine with things which have lower levels like tomatoes 140mg per 100g.
On the other hand people who are very vocal about how bad msg is & how badly they react to it are often fine when they eat foods containing high levels of free glutomates which suggests it is a psychosomatic reaction rather than a real problem in some cases.
As this thread has been concentrating on what is in food I thought I would mention it as everyone seems to have an opinion on msg & anyone who chooses to avoid it should at least be aware of which foods are naturally high in it.

[isbister]

Tellboy

Vegetarians eat butter, eggs, cheese etc but don't eat flesh
It's vegans who eat no animal products at all
Incidentally piscatarians eat fish and chick-a-ticktarians eat fowl

[RosieMcPosie]

I'm ignorant isbister,
I didn't know that veggies eat butter?
 ???

telboy, why wouldn't we? butter is made from milk and salt. vegans don't, however.

[RosieMcPosie]

ooops sorry isbister :(

[Hyacinth]

....understandable confusion, when even 'vegetarians' argue the issue about dairy products  - it comes up from time to time on the Beeb Veggie MB. Think that the argument for non-dairy consumption is that milk production is a direct result of cruelty to a cow (& its offspring, in one way or another!) in the first instance, then on-going cruelty to the animal during its milk producing life, the 'reward' for which is eventual slaughter.

"chick-a-tikka-tarian"?... ;D

[Jeannine]

Hey, i got some of these granules, I needed a box to mail something in and begged  one from my neighbour , it was a commercail packet that had granules in so she gave ne some of the stuff as well as the box.

I tried them just mixed with water, no ............not nice.

I tried them as a thickener when mixed with juices round a roast  added water then the granules and presto  they worked great, was much easier than making a roux etc.

Would I use them again..yes. They didn't replace my home made gravy but I would use them for some things and make home made for  others.

Thank you for the post, proved the theory that you are never to old to learn something new

XX Jeannine

[star]

I agree, gravy granules are not better Jeanine, I stopped using them a long time ago and make 'proper' gravy. You cant beat the flavour and its so much healthier. I keep lots of 'stock' in the freezer in case its needed.

At least I know what is in it and feel happy to offer it up ;)