On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1159

dimensional fishnet that not only entraps pockets of water, but blocks the movements of the whale-like, water-swollen starch granules Thinning: The Granules Break Once it reaches its thickest consistency, the starchwater mixture will slowly thin out again There are three different things that the cook may do that encourage thinning: heating for a long period of time after thickening occurs, heating all the way to the boil, and vigorous stirring All of these have the same effect: they shatter the swollen and fragile granules into very small fragments While this does mean that even more amylose is released into the water, it also means that there are many fewer large bodies to get caught in the amylose tangle In other words, the amount of netting increases, the mesh grows finer, but at the same time the big whales become small minnows This thinning effect is especially striking in the case of very thick pastes, less obvious in normal sauces If the granules are few and far between to begin with, their disintegration is less noticeable This thinning is accompanied by a greater refinement of texture, as the starch particles disappear and only indetectably small molecules remain Some of the thinning of long-simmered starch-based sauces is caused by the gradual breakdown of the starch molecules themselves into smaller fragments Acidity accelerates this breakdown Thickening a sauce with starch Uncooked starch granules offer little obstruction to the flow of the surrounding liquid (left) As the sauce heats up and the temperature reaches the gelation range, the granules absorb water and swell, and the sauce consistency begins to ... granules offer little obstruction to the flow of the surrounding liquid (left) As the sauce heats up and the temperature reaches the gelation range, the granules absorb water and swell, and the sauce consistency begins to... particles disappear and only indetectably small molecules remain Some of the thinning of long-simmered starch-based sauces is caused by the gradual breakdown of the starch molecules themselves into smaller fragments... normal sauces If the granules are few and far between to begin with, their disintegration is less noticeable This thinning is accompanied by a greater refinement of texture, as the starch particles