Homemade gravy without lumps? White sauce without fat? That's the kind of question that crossed my mind when I came across Robin Hood's Best For Blending Flour.
The company calls it "a granular flour that blends easier into wet or dry ingredients" and "an ideal thickening agent for sauces and gravies".
Sounds good, but does it live up to its description?On the whole, yes.
I first tried RHBFBF (that's the quickest way to refer to it!) for thickening gravy.
Two tablespoons of it dissolved easily into a cup of combined turkey drippings and water, and as I heated and stirred, it all turned into a not too thick, not too thin gravy.
(Next time, though, I'd use broth instead of water, purely for more flavor.
) To make white sauce, I whisked two tablespoons of RHBFBF into a cup of cold milk and heated it, whisking all the time.
As before, the flour disappeared into the liquid instantly, but the mixture took time and heat to thicken.
And I did have to keep stirring.
Still, it was a gentler, less complicated process than melting fat and blending the flour in before the milk.
And once I'd added the usual seasonings, nobody missed the fat in the sauce.
The packaging says RHBFBF also makes "a light and crispy coating for meat, chicken, fish and vegetables", so I gave that a shot, too.
I mixed a couple of tablespoons of it with a packet of Bovril (vegetable flavor), and coated two chicken legs in it.
Then I oven-fried them (skin side down in a pan containing a little hot fat, brushing the upper side with the pan juices, at 350° for 45 minutes).
Though this isn't going to replace Shake 'n' Bake, it does form an even, golden brown crust.
It also worked on fried zucchini slices - the flour didn't come off in the hot oil, but stuck to the zucchini and browned it nicely.
RHBFBF can substitute for an equal amount of all-purpose flour, but at about $4 a pound, it's too expensive to use for regular baking.
Used sparingly to thicken sauces and coat food, however, it's good value and a handy product to have around.
The company calls it "a granular flour that blends easier into wet or dry ingredients" and "an ideal thickening agent for sauces and gravies".
Sounds good, but does it live up to its description?On the whole, yes.
I first tried RHBFBF (that's the quickest way to refer to it!) for thickening gravy.
Two tablespoons of it dissolved easily into a cup of combined turkey drippings and water, and as I heated and stirred, it all turned into a not too thick, not too thin gravy.
(Next time, though, I'd use broth instead of water, purely for more flavor.
) To make white sauce, I whisked two tablespoons of RHBFBF into a cup of cold milk and heated it, whisking all the time.
As before, the flour disappeared into the liquid instantly, but the mixture took time and heat to thicken.
And I did have to keep stirring.
Still, it was a gentler, less complicated process than melting fat and blending the flour in before the milk.
And once I'd added the usual seasonings, nobody missed the fat in the sauce.
The packaging says RHBFBF also makes "a light and crispy coating for meat, chicken, fish and vegetables", so I gave that a shot, too.
I mixed a couple of tablespoons of it with a packet of Bovril (vegetable flavor), and coated two chicken legs in it.
Then I oven-fried them (skin side down in a pan containing a little hot fat, brushing the upper side with the pan juices, at 350° for 45 minutes).
Though this isn't going to replace Shake 'n' Bake, it does form an even, golden brown crust.
It also worked on fried zucchini slices - the flour didn't come off in the hot oil, but stuck to the zucchini and browned it nicely.
RHBFBF can substitute for an equal amount of all-purpose flour, but at about $4 a pound, it's too expensive to use for regular baking.
Used sparingly to thicken sauces and coat food, however, it's good value and a handy product to have around.
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