6.1 Starch-Thickened Products
Objectives:
- To demonstrate increased skill in thickening starch mixtures.
- To prepare some basic starch-thickened products.
- To identify a standard product for pudding and to compare its qualities with commercial pudding products.
Laboratory Problems:
- Prepare cream soups.
- Prepare basic puddings.
- Prepare commercial puddings.
Terms
- Starch Gelatinization
- Amylopectin
- Amylose
- Cereal Starch
- Root Starch
- Modified Starch
- Sol
- Gel
- Retrogradation
- Syneresis
Prepare cream soups:
Cream of Asparagus, Spinach, or Pea Soup
| 1 tbsp. flour | 1 tbsp. butter or margarine |
| ⅛ tsp. salt | 1 cup milk |
| 2 tsp. finely chopped or minced fresh onion (not dry minced) | ¼ cup pureed or finely chopped vegetable |
| white pepper |
Cook onion in butter over low heat until onion is translucent. Stir in flour and salt; remove from heat. Add milk, stirring to blend; return to heat and stir gently while heating quickly to the full boil. After the mixture has boiled 1-2 minutes, add vegetable. Heat to serving temperature and add white pepper as needed.
Pimento and Onion Soup
| 1 tbsp. flour | 2 tsp. minced fresh onion |
| 1 tbsp. butter or margarine | 1 tbsp. chopped pimento |
| ⅛ tsp. salt | white pepper |
| 1 cup milk |
Cook onion in butter over low heat until onion is translucent. Stir in flour and salt; remove from heat. Add milk, stirring to blend; return to heat and stir gently while heating quickly to the full boil. After the mixture has boiled 1-2 minutes, add pimiento. Heat to serving temperature and add white pepper as needed.
Cream of Celery Soup
| ¼ cup thinly sliced celery | 1 tbsp. flour |
| 2 tsp. minced fresh onion | ½ cup milk |
| 1 tbsp. butter | ½ cup chicken or vegetable broth |
Cook celery and onion in butter over low heat until vegetables are translucent. Stir in flour; remove from heat. Add milk and broth, stirring to blend, return to heat and stir gently while heating quickly to a full boil. Boil 1 minute then remove from heat.
Cream of Potato Soup
| ⅔ cup diced potatoes | 2 tsp. flour |
| ¼ tsp. salt | ½ cup milk |
| 1 tbsp. butter | ½ cup reserved cooking liquid |
| 2 tsp. minced fresh onion | 1 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped |
| dash white pepper |
Peel, dice and cook potatoes in enough salted water to just cover potatoes; drain and reserve cooking liquid. Cook onion in butter over low heat until onion is translucent. Stir in flour; remove from heat and add milk and reserved cooking liquid from potatoes, stirring to blend, return to heat and stir gently while heating quickly to a full boil. Boil 1 minute then remove from heat. Add potatoes and parsley; heat to serving temperature and add white pepper as needed.
Characteristics of a Standard Product
| Appearance | Consistency | Flavor |
|
Color typical for product. No surface skin or fat separation. |
Smooth, neither slick nor lumpy. Viscosity similar to thin white sauce. |
Mild, well-seasoned vegetable flavor. No raw starch flavor. |
Evaluation
| Cream Soup | Appearance | Consistency | Flavor |
| Asparagus | |||
| Spinach | |||
| Pea | |||
| Pimento and Onion | |||
| Celery | |||
| Potato |
Prepare Basic Puddings
Cocoa Pudding
| 1 tbsp. cornstarch | 1 cup milk |
| ¼ cup sugar | ½ tsp. vanilla |
| 1 tbsp. cocoa | ½ tsp. butter |
| dash salt |
Mix cornstarch, sugar, cocoa, and salt. Blend in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring gently until mixture boils. Continue cooking over direct heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring slowly but constantly. Remove from heat, blend in vanilla and butter, and pour into serving dish to cool.
Chocolate Pudding
| 1 tbsp. cornstarch | 1 cup milk |
| ¼ cup sugar | ⅓ oz. unsweetened chocolate, cut in small pieces |
| dash salt | ½ tsp. vanilla |
Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt. Blend in milk; add chocolate. Cook over medium heat, stirring gently until mixture boils. Continue cooking over direct heat 2 to 3 minutes,* stirring slowly but constantly. Remove from heat, blend in vanilla, and pour into serving dish to cool.
*Or cook, covered, in a double boiler for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Vanilla Pudding
| ¼ cup sugar | 1 cup milk |
| 1 ½ Tbsp cornstarch | 1 ½ tsp butter |
| 1/8 tsp salt | ½ tsp vanilla extract |
In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Reduce heat; cook and stir 1 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into serving dish and cool.
Peach Tapioca Pudding
| 1 tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca | ½ cup peaches, chopped fine |
| dash salt | few drops of almond extract |
| ⅔ cup peach juice (from can) and/or water** |
Mix tapioca and salt. Blend in peach juice and/or water; let stand 5 minutes. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture barely simmers. Simmer for 1 minute; remove from heat. Cover and let stand about 5 minutes to complete gelatinization of starch. Stir in peaches and almond extract. Pour into serving dish and cool.
**Add 1 tbsp. sugar for each ½ cup water.
Prepare commercial puddings
Prepare ½ package of regular packaged pudding and pie filling mix, or instant pudding mix according to package directions.
Characteristics of Standard Product
| Appearance | Texture | Flavor |
|
Color typical of product. Shiny film formed on top of cooked milk puddings. |
Pudding either mounds slightly or is tender gel, free from lumps. Light, delicate mouth feel. |
Distinct, slightly sweet. Flavor typical for type of product. |
Evaluation
| Pudding | Appearance | Texture | Flavor | Overall Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocoa | ||||
| Chocolate | ||||
| Vanilla | ||||
| Peach Tapioca | ||||
| Packaged (Cook-N-Serve) | ||||
| Packaged instant | ||||
| Snack-Pack(refrigerated) |
