Topic: White Sauce

[tim]

Why - please - can you make a sauce, cook it for several minutes to the exact consistency, put it to cool - bring it out & need to add almost as much liquid as before??

[PurpleHeather]

Think it is mainly to do with temperature & starch expansion.

Have you tried the comparison and quantity variation with other starches such as wheat flour, rice flour, corn four, or arrowroot?

The results would be very interesting.

[tim]

The only other I've tried is Cornflour - very strange to handle.

Despite searching in McGee & Lundberg, I still can't figure why, having thickened - as normal - on cooling, sauce can then take so much more liquid to re-thin it. Just re-heating doesn't do it.

Must try making it much thinner to see what happens.

[Susiebelle]

Tim it's something that frustrates me, as most of us will make sauce in advance supposedly making serving a little easier.
We need Baccy man for this one hope he's not too far away? I will be back later to see if he is able to throw any light on it :-\

[Baccy Man]

Simple answer is cook out over a low heat for 30 minutes after the desired consistency is reached & stir regularly whilst cooling to limit the amount of gelation that occurs.

A more comprehensive answer will take a while to write in a way where I don't confuse myself let alone anyone else as there are lots of factors that influence the consistency & the processes of dextrinisation, gelatinisation, gelation & retrogradation to explain.
It will have to wait until later though as the sun is out & I have been informed the floodwater has receded so the bridge is back in use which means I can get to my plot for the first time in a week & a half.

[tim]

Ah, so go on cooking beyond the desired consistency. Must try!

[Susiebelle]

Me too, many thanks Baccy man.