Questions about Arrowroot, Guar Gum
 

Hi Karen, would you please explain how many carbs are in these thickeners and how to use them. Arrowroot, Guar Gum(sp?). Are there any others that are low carb? Thanks so much!

hi there,

Arrowroot flour is over 88% pure starch and very little fiber. One cup is 112.8g carbs / 4.4g fiber. That translates to 7g carbs / 0.3g fiber per Tablespoon.

Guar gum is all soluble fiber .. it runs around 1g carbs / 1g fiber (0g net) per teaspoon.


hth,

Doreen

Ooops, forgot to add about how to use ...

Guar gum (and also xanthan gum) will thicken hot and cold liquids. A litle goes a long way, so you'll only need ½ to one teaspoonful to thicken 2 cups (500ml) liquid. It will clump, but keep stirring and the clumps will disappear. The texture will not be like flour or starch thickened sauces however ... it will be, well .. gummy.

FWIW, I think xanthan gum tastes better, ie it has no taste at all. Guar gum has a slight bitter edge.


Doreen

I used arrowroot (2T) to thicken a stir fry tonight. Man, I had no idea it was so potent. Do y'all recommend it's use or not.
Thanks
Patti

Oh, BTW, I'm a member on several gardening forums but this is my first ever LC forum. Thanks for letting me in. I'm sure I'll get lots of support.
Patti

Guar tastes too 'beany' for me. I'm been working on gravy a few months now. I'm not a big fan of xanthan as I find it gives gravies a slippery mouthfeel. I tried combining xanthan with other thickeners, using less and less each time until finally I came to the conclusion - I don't like xanthan in gravy. I love it as a stabiliser in cheese sauce to prevent curdling, but I'm not a fan of it in gravy.

Once you depart the soluble fiber gum realm, the options aren't overwhelming for potential thickeners. Vital wheat gluten goes stringy, soy flour doesn't taste that great and almond flour lends gravies a strange texture/taste as well.

So I turned to arrowroot - but only in moderation. The nice thing about arrowroot is that although it's slightly more carbs than flour, it has twice the thickening power. 1 T. (7 carbs) will thicken a cup of liquid. Since 7 carbs is a bit high for me, I combine it with some powdered gelatin and a little cream (for opacity) and get the net carbs down to 5. 2.5 net carbs per 1/2 C. serving works for me. It isn't zero carb like the gum thickeners, but it isn't slimy either.