Thickeners

Sauces, puddings, fillings, mousses, and creams can be thickened or stabilized by many ingredients, including gelatin, eggs, and starches such as flour, cornstarch, tapioca, arrowroot, and other modified food starches such as Ultratex (modified tapioca starch). These thickeners may be used to lightly thicken a mixture, such as a sauce, or to produce something set to a sliceable consistency, like Bavarian cream.

The quantity and type of thickener, as well as how it is stirred or otherwise manipulated, will determine the properties of the finished product. For example, if a custard is cooked over direct heat and stirred constantly, the result will be a sauce that pours easily. Baked in a water bath with no stirring at all, the same base will set into firm custard. Modified food starches such as Ultratex will thicken without the application of heat.