Thicken your sauce: Simple methods beyond just flour
When a sauce is too runny, there’s no need to despair. You can fix it quickly. Have you ever used flour for this? There are many other quick and effective methods. It's worth remembering them.
The most common sauce mishap is that it becomes too runny. The most popular solution is to add flour mixed with water or use a roux, which gives a quick result. However, flour is not essential. There are effective ways of thickening without it.
Cook it longer
If you cook the sauce longer to evaporate the excess water, it will thicken. To speed up the evaporation process, transfer it to a wide dish and not cover it so the steam can escape freely. If the sauce contains vegetables, remove them from the sauce before they become too soft and lose their nutritional value. This method requires more preparation time and constant supervision.
Use vegetables or dairy
Another method is to use vegetables. After removing the meat, cooked vegetables can be blended with some sauce. If the dish doesn't contain vegetables, you can add a boiled potato or zucchini, which, when blended with the sauce, will improve the consistency and enrich your diet with vegetables.
Dairy products like cream or yoghurt can also help thicken the sauce. Before adding them, it's always worth mixing them with a small amount of sauce to prevent curdling. You can also use products like mascarpone or ricotta, which will additionally give the sauce a creamy consistency.
Or maybe egg yolk or flakes
Mixing the sauce with beaten egg yolk can also thicken it. However, be careful not to let the yolk curdle at too high a temperature. An alternative is to use the yolk from a hard-boiled egg, which you can dissolve in hot liquid and add to the sauce.
Other possible additions include ground flaxseed or oatmeal, which increase the sauce’s thickness while enriching it with fibre and omega-3 acids. Breadcrumbs are also an option, but it's best to add them cautiously to avoid over-thickening.
In tomato sauces, you might consider adding ketchup, which will not only thicken the sauce but also add a deep flavour.
