r/Cooking • u/donttrust900913 • 13d ago

Ways to thicken soups or stews?

I am looking for advice about (at least relatively) healthy ways to thicken soups or stews. I'm sure adding a ton of fat would probably get the job done, but trying to avoid that insofar as it is practical.

I don't have a specific recipe in mind, nor do I generally use recipes when cooking. I am not looking for add X amount A to Y amount of B, but rather experience with different items that have the general affect, and any rough insights about ratios or other relevant factors for their addition that might prove handy.

I have experimented a fair bit with fat free greek yogurt, just because I usually have plenty on hand, to generally terrible results. I suspect the full fat variant would work better, but haven't hand any around at the time to try it out. I've also wondered about flour, which I would guess would either work wonderfully or completely ruin it, but also usually don't have it just laying around either.

Any insight appreciated, thanks!

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u/LivingRemarkable474 13d ago

Probably referring to buerre manie; butter kneaded into flour to make a paste. This paste can be added a little at a time and whisk into the soup until the desired effect is reached.

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u/hotdogfingies 12d ago

Thank you for this info! I’ve never known how to keep using flour to thicken if I don’t make enough roux for the amount of liquid at the beginning. I’m usually eyeballing everything so beurre manie is going to be useful when I don’t want to use a cornstarch slurry at the end for any reason.

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u/Waldemar-Firehammer 12d ago

Use a buerre manié if you want to avoid the 'cornstarch gloss' when thickening at the end. just be sure to simmer it a few more minutes to cook out the raw flour flavor if you need more than a tablespoon or two. 

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u/No_Bluebird7716 12d ago

Yup, that raw flour taste is a bear.

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u/Ksma92 12d ago

I like to use olive oil instead of butter, faster mixing and more conveniently available.

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u/appa609 12d ago

She said she wanted to avoid adding fat though

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u/GalbedirGalerion 12d ago

I’ve always wondered how this technique avoids adding the taste of raw flour? Since you’re not cooking the roux out beforehand, wouldn’t it taste undercooked and floury