Chef Forum banner

What is the best way to thicken a juice based sauce?

21K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  allanmcpherson 
#1 ·
What is the best way to thicken a juice based sauce?

I have it thicker than plane juice, but I want it thicker, like a thick syrup.

How can I do that?

TIA!
 
#2 ·
A couple of questions:

a) What exactly is in the sauce?

b) What's the sauce for?

I personally tend to go for reduction sauces far more than starch thickened sauces these days, but there are some instances where reducing sauces will give it an unappealing flavour and/or colour. Also, there are some instances where thickening with starch is preferable over reduction.

However, another alternative is to add some gelatin (1 tsp per 2 cups of liquid) into your mixture and reduce as normal, the gelatin "should" give it a quality that allows it to be reduced similar to a stock-based sauce.
 
#5 ·
I'd bloom it in cold water first then melt the gelatin in the heated liquid. To be perfectly honest I've never tried doing this before... hopefully it works for you.
 
#12 ·
reduce the sauce, then add a little cornstarch, but do not* over do it with constarch, I don't think any sauce should be so thick that you can use a fork...you dont want to have corn starch plus juices :) for a sauce

I learned this through my own mistakes
 
#16 ·
If you want a starch thickener to stay clear and shiny id use arrowroot which doesnt cloud like cornflour, or else reduce and whisk in loads of cold butter peices which will thicken and glaze
 
#17 ·
The assumption that I'm working on is that you want a sauce that has the body of a reduction but with the eye popping brightness of the juice (knowing what kind of fruit juice would help here). I would also assume that you want the fruit flavor to be at the forefront and not just an accent.

Gelatin is a good idea for texture but might be a problem for flavor. Commercial gelatin is primarily a pork product and if cooked too intensely or too long will taste of pork, or at least "meaty." This may or may not be an issue for you. If its not (like you were making a blueberry sauce to go with duck) than I might suggest using a very reduced meat stock (past the demi glace stage) to thicken the juice.

However, if you want a sharp, tangy sauce (without that "meat" quality) I would start by reducing some of the juice down to a thick syrup, then adding fresh juice while the sauce is at a very low temp. With a little adjustment you should be able to find the balance between a developed, intense flavor with something fresh and vibrant.

---Al
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top