Video Exploring Gluten Free Gravy

[jesse_the_k]

Adam Ragusea aragusea was a public radio reporter, is now a journalism professor, and has recently become a YouTuber talking about home cooking with a healthy dose of science. I was thrilled by last year’s Alternative Starches: How to thicken sauces without flour. He demonstrates making gravy with

• flours: rice, potato, and corn (US: corn starch)
• starches: tapioca, arrowroot
• gums: xanthan and agar agar.

He also explores how some gums maintain their staying power at all temperatures, which finally explained why wheat flours sometimes show up in ice creams.

I’ve been using cornstarch and arrowroot to make slurry gravies for decades. Adam blew my mind by making a traditional browned roux with both potato and rice flours, and they look great! Adam summarizes:

If you need to make a gluten-free gravy, you can try making your roux with rice flour or potato starch — I'd do the rice flour because it's more opaque. That makes a really delicious gravy. Nobody is gonna miss the wheat.

Content notes: although he has sponsors, YouTube is running US campaign ads to start and randomly in the middle.

Have you made fat-and-flour based sauces with gluten-free ingredients? Which flour did you use? Please share any hard-won lessons or handy tips.

Comments

[topaz_eyes]

I used to thicken gravy with corn starch all the time, but leftover gravy would start to separate within 24 hours in the fridge. I switched to rice flour for thickening a few years ago, and it's made a world of difference. Leftover rice flour gravy holds together much longer in the fridge. Rice flour is comparable to wheat flour in terms of thickening.

I also find rice flour easier to use. With corn starch, if you don't suspend it thoroughly in water before adding to the fat, it settles into a non-Newtonian fluid at the bottom that is difficult to re-suspend. I don't have that problem with rice flour.

[runpunkrun]

This looks like a great resource!

[loligo]

I once made gumbo with a rice flour roux and it turned out quite well. Time to buy more rice flour and try it again. (Usually I just have premade GF flour mixes on hand, not single ingredient flours. )

[ironymaiden]

(haven't watched the video yet, thanks for sharing.)

my go-to for holiday meal gravy uses xanthan gum with an immersion blender to mix it into pan juices, stock, or bouillon/meat base. with the immersion blender there are no worries about lumps and i can atomize some flavors from the pan by keeping a few stray mushrooms, onions, bits of meat, etc. you have to add the xanthan powder incrementally and keep testing for consistency since xanthan can go from pleasing to uncanny slime quite quickly. it's better to under-shoot as it will set a bit more as it cools.
what i like about the xanthan is that it has no perceptible flavor on its own, so you get a very pure and punchy meatiness as long as you have a flavorful liquid to start with. i am able to have gluten myself and i've come to prefer this treatment over a traditional flour-thickened gravy. (plus it NEVER fails to thicken.) it's always a hit with company.

[nerakrose]

Oh man, one of the things I miss the most from Scandinavia is maizena gravy thickener. It's a naturally gluten free gravy thickener consisting mostly of potato starch (bit of lactose, bit of rice flour, and if brown then a colour, and an emulsifier (E471) (the brand obv specialises in corn starch, hence the name). I can't find it anywhere in the UK so I'm watching this thread 👀👀 I haven't had reason to make gravy yet since moving here, but I'm vaguely planning on making Scandinavian Christmas dinner for my housemates and I'm now sorely missing maizena 🙃🙃🙃 I'm considering making my own mix based on the ingredients list on the maizena box but we'll see.

I've now watched the video and I think my plan is def going to be using a mix of potato starch and rice flour to make gravy - I'll try the roux method, that sounds tasty af.

[j00j]

I've successfully used this rice flour based recipe https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-gluten-free-gravy-237562 . I do corn starch sometimes to quickly thicken a gravy or strew, but as topaz_eyes comments, there are some non-Newtonian issues and also it gets Real Weird if you freeze it.

[gatheringrivers]

Ooooo thank you!

Rice flour, huh? I'll have to pick some up, that's worth a shot...

[mific]

I use cornflour or potato flour. Cornflour works fine as long as it’s mixed well with cold water before adding.

[jesse_the_k]

In my roux days, I would use 4Tbs of butter with 4Tbs of wheat flour. Based on your experience, can I substitute rice flour at the same volume as wheat flour?

I found an outstanding resource on the delicate varieties of non-Newtonian liquids.

[jesse_the_k]

I love how he brings a Dr-Rodney's-Science-Corner enthusiasm to the task, comparing each thickener's behavior at various temps.

[jesse_the_k]

...and gumbo is from rice country, so it makes sense.

You are brave!

[jesse_the_k]

I had just one successful encounter with xanthan gum. Mostly its awesome thickening powers have created frightening almost-sentient blocks of jelly on my countertop and in my sink.

Using the immersion blender is crucial, as well as improving the taste.

It's so handy to have a reliable packaged product

[jesse_the_k]

Best of luck -- and report back with your results.

Great link

[jesse_the_k]

Oh! Freezing! If one makes something with leftovers, then its freezer response is crucial. Your linked recipe even suggests freezing the result so as to have some handy in the months to come.

[jesse_the_k]

Rice flour is complex to shop for, since (at least in the U.S. Midwest) we have quite a variety.

Sweet rice flour (sometimes labeled Mochiko) has the most thickening power per unit. I can't tell any functional difference between white and brown rice flour.

[jesse_the_k]

Does potato flour also form a nice slurry?

[topaz_eyes]

They say to use 3/4 cup of rice flour for every 1 cup of wheat flour (so 3 Tbs rice flour instead of 4 Tbs wheat flour). Though the last time I made a roux I used 4 Tbs butter with 4 Tbs cup rice flour and it turned out okay. You might need to experiment; the ideal amount of rice flour may be in between.

Cool resource, thank you!

[runpunkrun]

Aw. <3

I haven't watched the vid yet, but your post (and j00j's link to Kitchn) inspired me to give rice flour a try instead of being lazy and using corn starch. We made turkey gravy with a sweet rice flour roux and it wasn't any extra work, thickened easily, and the gravy didn't get scary as it cooled. Yay for science!

[gatheringrivers]

What is it sweetened with, do you know? We've got a local spice store where I can pick up almost anything I can't find at any of the local indian groceries.

(The exception being cubeb/tailed peppers, I always have to mail order those.)

[jesse_the_k]

....the crowd wants to know: did you have biscuits for the gravy?

[jesse_the_k]

It's not actually sweet. It's also labeled "glutinous" or "sticky" white rice. It's ground from very short grain rice which has a higher starch content.

[runpunkrun]

Mashed potatoes. I can't eat any of the things that make biscuits taste good. :(

[gatheringrivers]

Oh! I think we already have glutinous rice flour then. Thanks!

[agoodwinsmith]

Thank you!