I'm Potato Starch Challenged

[Jeanniebug]

So I was following a recipe that called for potato starch for the first time. I was to mix 1 tbsp potato starch with some chicken broth. It mixed up great all nice and normal looking. Then I had to add it to a broth mixture I had simmering on the stove.

When I did this, the starch immediately gummed up into these large gloppy groups of...I don't-know-what. They were clear globs, like jellyfish. I tried bringing everything to a boil but I could not get these globs of potato starch to mix with the sauce.

Does anyone know what I did wrong? I stirred well...I pre-mixed the starch with the liquid like the receipe said. I'm stumped.

Thanks!!!!

[The Fluffy Assassin]

So I was following a recipe that called for potato starch for the first time. I was to mix 1 tbsp potato starch with some chicken broth. It mixed up great all nice and normal looking. Then I had to add it to a broth mixture I had simmering on the stove.

When I did this, the starch immediately gummed up into these large gloppy groups of...I don't-know-what. They were clear globs, like jellyfish. I tried bringing everything to a boil but I could not get these globs of potato starch to mix with the sauce.

Does anyone know what I did wrong? I stirred well...I pre-mixed the starch with the liquid like the receipe said. I'm stumped.

Thanks!!!!

All I got is this site Open Original Shared Link saying "Liquids thickened with potato starch should never be boiled." Why? Dunno, they don't say.

[GlutenGalAZ]

So I was following a recipe that called for potato starch for the first time. I was to mix 1 tbsp potato starch with some chicken broth. It mixed up great all nice and normal looking. Then I had to add it to a broth mixture I had simmering on the stove.

When I did this, the starch immediately gummed up into these large gloppy groups of...I don't-know-what. They were clear globs, like jellyfish. I tried bringing everything to a boil but I could not get these globs of potato starch to mix with the sauce.

Does anyone know what I did wrong? I stirred well...I pre-mixed the starch with the liquid like the receipe said. I'm stumped.

Thanks!!!!

Oh my gosh! I had the same thing happen when I tried to make my own cheese sauce for mac and cheese. The first time it happened I didn't know it was the potato starch I thought something was the matter with the food b/c I had never seen that before so I tossed it then the 2nd time (couple weeks later) I saw it happen and understood what the globs were

I really wanna make mac and cheese from scratch and other things that involve sauces with starches. I wanna say I tried the cheese sauce with corn starch the second time and the same thing happened but its been a while and I don't remember hmmmm maybe it was potato starch the second time too....

[Jeanniebug]

There has to be a trick to getting it to mix, right? I'm going to research online, if I figure it out I'll post it here.

[jerseyangel]

In my experience, potato starch works as kind of a "supercharged" cornstarch when used to thicken a hot liquid. Try using a bit less of the potato starch and use a whisk to incorporate it into the sauce. Begin whisking as you add the potato starch slurry, and keep whisking in small circular motions until the sauce is thickened.

The main thing is to keep the sauce moving, and quickly work out the "glops" since it works very quickly.

[hannahp57]

are you subbing the starch for a recipe that uses regular flour? if you use a starch in place of regular flour the suggested amount is half of the amount of gluten flour. rice flour however can be subbed in equal amounts. also you must use a whisk and stir stir stir constantly. i make gravy with starches and if i walk away long enough to drain my poatoes, i will walk back to starchy globs instead of a thickened sauce (i have had success with using a fork for stirring but the whisk works 100 times better)

[Jeanniebug]

I wasn't using it as a sub, the recipe just called for 2 tsp of potato starch. This confirms what I suspected...I need to whisk whisk whisk super-fast next time!! Thank you all for your replies.