With a starch that doesn’t need to be cooked
before it is incorporated (such as cornstarch or
potato starch), just dissolve the starch in a small
amount of liquid to start. Starting with a smaller
amount of liquid makes the mechanical stirring
action of your spoon, fork, or whisk much more
effective. Smaller amounts of liquid also get viscous
more easily, making it simpler to bash up those
pockets of dry starch. I use an equal volume of
starch to liquid to start and stir it until homogeneous
before adding the remaining liquid, or adding it to
the rest of the liquid.
For starches that need to have their raw flavor
cooked out of them, such as flour, start them in fat.
Starch does not swell in fat, so by first combining
flour with a fat like butter or oil and mixing it until
homogeneous, you end up coating the individual
starch granules, preventing them from swelling and
sticking together when you first add the liquid. After
you add it, the fat eventually melts away, so the
starch is exposed and can be incorporated smoothly.
This is the premise behind using a roux to thicken a
soup or sauce.
Finally, remember that for starches to thicken
properly, they must be brought to a complete boil to
reach their optimal swelling size. You’ll notice a
soup thicken dramatically as it goes from just plain
hot to actually boiling.
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