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When it comes to making homemade gravy, most people are missing the, uh, boat entirely! For example, cornstarch is the most common gravy thickener. It’s the main ingredient in all those gravy powder packets too.
A big reason to avoid it is that it’s likely made from unlabeled genetically modified corn unless you make the effort to buy organic. GM corn has been linked to organ failure and tumors in animals.
Even organic cornstarch is basically devoid of any nutrition or flavor. It’s just empty calories.
Why not add both nutrition and extra flavor by using a nutrition-rich thickening agent that is a bit time consuming to make yourself, but is now conveniently available for purchase: sprouted flour.
I prefer sprouted einkorn, spelt, or kamut flour myself, but if you are gluten-free, you can use buckwheat, rice, or any gluten-free flour of your choice.
Why Sprouted Flour to Thicken?
Sprouting a grain before grinding into a flour increases the nutrition of the grain substantially. For instance, vitamin C is produced by sprouting grain, but it is absent in the unsprouted form. Vitamin B content is increased dramatically by sprouting as are carotenes. Irritating substances in the hull of the grain are inactivated by sprouting as well. These inhibitors (phytic acid) have the potential to neutralize the enzymes in our digestive tract and block mineral absorption, so sprouting exponentially increases ease of digestion as well as nutrient absorbability.
Much media attention has been focused recently on the problem of aflatoxins in grains. Aflatoxins are potent carcinogens and are present in high quantities in highly processed foods such as crackers, cookies, chips, and cereals. Sprouting inactivates aflatoxins, which is just another reason to follow the wisdom of traditional peoples in grain preparation!
Sourcing the Healthiest Gravy Thickener
If you want to try your hand at homemade sprouted flour, it is very easy but will take a bit of time and you will have to plan ahead so you get it done before your holiday meal.
If you want to purchase sprouted flour, you can buy sprouted wheat berries like I do so that you can grind yourself for the freshest and most nutrient-dense flour, or if you don’t have a grain grinder, you can purchase sprouted flour.
** Click here for the vetted sources I recommend and buy from myself when purchasing sprouted grains. At least one of these companies is offering free shipping through December, so this is a great time to stock up!
Below is a video clip I filmed for the News Channel 8 Today show which aired yesterday on many NBC affiliate stations around North America. Please click over and like Gayle Guyardo’s Facebook page, as she is the co-anchor of the show and was responsible for getting this important Traditional Cooking information on TV.
To view all the Holiday Turkey Tips I filmed for the NBC News Channel 8 Today show, click here.
I read the comments, but I didn’t see the exact ratio for subbing sprouted flour for regular white flour or for corn starch. I know you only need half the corn starch as white flour (at least that is how I have always thickened my soups and sauces). Would sprouted flour be subbed tablespoon per tablespoon for white flour in thickening? Thanks!
Hi there, I am planning to make a scallopped sweet potato casserole that has a thickened milk sauce in it… It calls for 3 Tbsp of regular white flour… using sprouted, do I use the same amount? (3tbsp?) thanks
you are a truly wonderful educator ! my daughter and I live a 1000 miles apart ..she put me onto your site …our irregular phone calls are often about raw milk etc via your info …so thanks xx
As we are grain-free, I am most interested in trying egg yolk thickening idea. Up to now, we’ve had pretty runny gravy as I didn’t know what on earth I could thicken it with. It seems a mite tricky and maybe more time intensive in the midst of the rush of trying to get the food on the table?
Irene–thickening with egg yolks isn’t tricky–you just have to take care not to cook the egg too quickly with the hot broth/sauce you are adding it too. To do that, you have to temper the egg by adding a small amount of the hot liquid slowly to the egg yolks while beating constantly. If you see chunky egg bits forming (like curds), that’s a signal you’ve added too much hot liquid too quickly. The idea is to gently and slowly warm the yolks by adding the hot liquid. After you’ve added at least as much hot liquid as you had yolk volume, you can slowly, while whisking the broth constantly, add the now tempered yolks to your broth. The broth should not be boiling, but just below a simmer. If you boil the broth, you’ll curdle the egg (not good eats). It isn’t hard, just go slowly until you get the hang of it.
You use the same technique to make egg custards and puddings.
I use an immersible blender and blend my stock vegetables to thicken gravy. Works with loads of sauces. My short ribs and sauce are quite famous – mushrooms are the secret there.
Ive used arrowroot with success. Have any of you tried that? What did you think?