SteveB wrote:
> I went to a restaurant yesterday, and they had great clam chowder. Then my
> wife made some corn chowder today, and it was altogether different. The
> thick almost gravy broth had a flour taste. The restaurant chowder had the
> same consistency, but a much more flavorful broth.
>
> What is a good combination for thickening soup broths? Cornstarch? Wondra?
>
> Steve
>

Pardon me if my failure to read every other post in this thread before i
reply causes me to reiterate this basic advice.

Cook the white flour in a pan by itself or with butter to make a roux to
thicken with. Roughly one tbs. of flour to one tbs. of butter for 1 cup
of milk or other liquid to thicken it.

Brining to a boil and then simmering a small dice of 1 small onion in
the cup of milk for about 15 minutes and then straining the milk before
you use it to thicken the soup is very good.

Combining flour with water to act as a thickener can result in a
'floury' taste. Cooking the flour is usually the answer to that
problem. Letting the flour darken a bit to produce what is called a
blond roux, as opposed to a white or brown roux which is just cooked a
correspondingly shorter and longer period of time, is a way to make sure
you have cooked off the 'raw' flour taste.

Cornstarch does not have the same flavor issue and a lot of people
prefer it to flour, but it gives me indigestion when used as a
thickener. But it is the easiest as it can be mixed with a bit of water
and added to thicken a soup or sauce.
--
Joseph Littleshoes