Substitution Thickners for low carb keto way of eating

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  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    Interesting--thank you.

    She does not mention agar or gelatin, which might also work in some situations.
  • angelamb1970
    angelamb1970 Posts: 123 Member
    What do you think would work best for turkey gravy so that my family wouldn't notice a difference? I currently use about a TB of all purpose flour.
  • tlflag1620
    tlflag1620 Posts: 1,358 Member
    angelamb1970 wrote: »
    What do you think would work best for turkey gravy so that my family wouldn't notice a difference? I currently use about a TB of all purpose flour.

    I use either corn starch or potato starch (make a slurry with cold water, then add to hot drippings and stock, let boil and thicken). It has a lot more thickening power than four, so you can use a lot less (about 1/3-1/2 the amount). Yes it adds some carbs, but when you are talking about a couple tsp of something in 2-3 cups of gravy, it's still pretty low carb.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I see she mentioned that evil Xanthan gum. I hate adding that stuff to anything, i usually end up with a lumpy ball of glue! I stopped using it in my protein fluff, because the whole mixture ended up wadded around my blender blades instead of staying in the bowl, and i only use 2-3g at the most!
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    angelamb1970 wrote: »
    What do you think would work best for turkey gravy so that my family wouldn't notice a difference? I currently use about a TB of all purpose flour.

    Based on the article, half that much corn starch might be the way to go.

    I've never experimented with arrowroot--no idea about the texture or flavor.
  • dkabambe
    dkabambe Posts: 544 Member
    edited November 2016
    @angelamb1970 I use arrowroot as a matter of course for thickening sauces/gravy etc. Flavour wise it's neutral so won't affect your gravy. It's very easy to use - just mix with a little cold water then into your gravy. It incorporates and thickens very easily so doesn't need "cooking out" like flour does. What I also like is that it is near-colourless when mixed in, so your sauce gets thicker without taking on as much opaqueness as you get when thickening with flour.

    NB: Looking at the table arrowroot doesn't save you much by way of carbs if that's your primary motivation for seeking an alternative. I've always used it for reasons mentioned above and never really considered the dietary impact given the tiny quantities I end up consuming.
  • angelamb1970
    angelamb1970 Posts: 123 Member
    I'm going to try the arrowroot! Thank you!
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