<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

 
Many thanks to everyone who wrote about how to thicken soups. I received
about 60 replies, and will summarize:
 
A great many people suggested using either potatoes, potato flakes,
potato starch or tapioca to thicken soups. Here are some of their
comments:
 
I sometimes use potato starch, or else cook a potato and mash it, and
add it at the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Cherokee friend of mine and her mother always used mashed baked
potatoes. I also use tapioca and rice flours. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've sprinkled some instant potato flakes into soup to thicken or
tapioca, but that must be cooked in from the beginning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sure, just use GF instant mashed potatoes (we use Creamy Mash at Costco)
or if you have a "boatmotor" as Emeril Lagasse calls it, just use real
russett potatoes or carrots or just about any starchy vegetable and
pulverize it. This is how carrot or butternut soups are made. Also such
things as split pea, etc.  You can slo use potato or tapioca starth, but
when using these things always mix them in cold water, just like you
have to do with cornstarch,or it will be lumpy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You might try tapioca or simply potato flakes. I like sweet rice flour
best. If you try to freeze the soup made with sweet rice flour it will
not separate. I think that it is the only thickener for which that is
true.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Add potato flakes, one spoonful at at time. Stir the flakes into the hot
soup, let the soup cook a few minutes to let it thicken. If not thick
enough, add half the amount you added first and let it cook some more to
check the consistency.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My favorite is Tapioca Starch Flour. I normally put the starch in a bowl
or a large glass measuring cup and add cold liquid and mix with a hand
beater to add to the soup. You could start with mixing up to one cup of
Tapioca starch in two cups of liquid in the blender to make it easier
and add one half cup at a time and stir in and heat to desired
thickness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 10 cups of liquid, (not counting veggies, rice, etc) I would use two
tablespoons of potato starch flour, or 3 tablespoons of sweet rice
flour. Sweet rice flour is not the same as white rice flour. Sweet rice
is also called glutinous(nothing to do with gluten)  or sticky rice. It
is sold in all the asian markets, some health food stores, some
gluten-free on-line companies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some other interesting comments:
 
If you're making a vegetable soup, you can often puree part of the
cooked vegetables and then add the puree back to the soup. It works
bettwer with starchy vegetables such as potatoes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I prefer to put in some potato or white beans or lentils. You could also
try potato flour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adding dry rice also soaks up quite a bit of liquid.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coconut milk and sorghum flour or grate zuchinni very finely. Zuchinni
will "disappear" and will thicken soup.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can also thicken slow cooking soups by including a quarter of a cup
of tapioca pearls per two quarts of broth. Pearls should be added with
the other ingredients at the start and simmered for one to two hours, to
allow the pearls time to dissolve. Adjust the amount of tapioca pearls
to achieve desired consistency.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I use Montina but it doesn't take near as much as it does flour to
thicken something so be careful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Better to use heavy cream than half and half.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I use sour cream to thicken a cream base soup. It will not make it
thick, but will thicken it a little.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

* Send administrative questions to mailto:[log in to unmask] *
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC