Starches

Starches derived from roots and grains are among the oldest and most versatile thickeners for sauces. They are inexpensive and efficient in small amounts, so they can be used without imparting a flavor of their own.

Starch thickens sauces because its large molecules (made up of bush-like rows of sugar molecules) unravel in the liquid medium and bond into larger groupings with the water molecules. The efficiency of a particular starch as a thickener depends on the shape and size of its molecules and how they disperse in the liquid medium.