Everything about Thickening Agent totally explained
Thickening agents, or
thickeners, are substances which, when added to an aqueous mixture, increase its
viscosity without substantially modifying its other properties, such as
taste. They provide body, increase
stability, and improve
suspending action. Thickening agents are often used as
food additives and in
cosmetics and
personal hygiene products.
Food
Food thickeners are frequently based on
polysaccharides (
starches or
vegetable gums) or proteins (
egg yolks,
demi-glaces, or
collagen). Common examples are
agar,
alginin,
arrowroot,
carrageenan,
collagen,
cornstarch,
fecula,
furcellaran,
gelatin,
katakuri,
pectin,
rehan,
roux,
tapioca,
guar gum,
locust bean gum, and
xanthan gum.
Flour is often used for thickening
gravies,
gumbos, and
stews. It must be cooked in thoroughly to avoid the taint of uncooked flour.
Roux, a mixture of flour and fat, made into a paste before the liquid is added, is used for gravies,
sauces and stews. Cereal grains (
oatmeal,
couscous,
farina, etc.) are used to thicken
soups.
Yogurt is popular in Eastern Europe and Middle East for thickening soups. Soups can also be thickened by adding grated starchy vegetables before cooking, though these will add their own flavour. Tomato puree also adds thickness as well as flavour.
Egg yolks have rich flavor and offer a velvety smooth texture but can prove to be difficult to use.
Pectin is used as a gelling agent for
jams and
jellies. Other thickeners used by cooks are
nuts or
glaces made of
meat or
fish.
For acidic foods,
arrowroot is a better choice than
cornstarch, which loses thickening potency in acidic mixtures. At (acidic) pH levels below 4.5, guar gum has sharply reduced aqueous solubility, thus also reducing its thickening capability.
If the food is to be frozen, tapioca or arrowroot are preferable over cornstarch, which becomes spongy when frozen.
When using a thickening agent, care must be taken not to overcook the food. Some starches lose their thickening quality when cooked for too long or at too high a temperature, and thickened food may burn more easily during cooking. As an alternative to adding more thickener, recipes may call for reduction of the food's water content by lengthy simmering. When cooking, it's generally better to add thickener cautiously; if over-thickened, more water may be added but loss of flavour and texture may result.
Cosmetics
Thickening agents used in cosmetics or personal hygiene products include
polyethylene glycol, synthetic polymers such as
carbomer (a trade name for
polyacrylic acid) and
vegetable gums. Some thickening agents may also function as
stabilizers when they're used to maintain the stability of an
emulsion. Some
emollients, such as
petroleum jelly and various
waxes may also function as thickening agents in an emulsion.
Incendiary devices
Many fuels used in
incendiary devices require thickening for increased performance. Aluminium salts of
fatty acids are frequently used. Some formulations (for example Napalm-B) use polymeric thickeners, namely
polystyrene.
Thickened pyrophoric agent, a
pyrophoric variant to napalm, is a
triethylaluminium thickened with
polyisobutylene.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Thickening Agent'.
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