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-   -   Konjac Flour (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=478691)

Scuba22 Sun, Dec-03-17 16:05

Konjac Flour
 
Hi,

I was wondering if anyone else had come across Konjac flour (or Glucomannan flour). I had read online that it was could for thickening sauces and desert fillings but I have either made a hockey puck or had no affect. I have had a lot of success with Xanthan gum but failed miserably with this stuff. Does anyone have any recipes or advice? I was hoping to make a hot desert such as rice pudding or something....

Any help would be appreciated as my hockey puck production is costing me a fortune!

robynsnest Sun, Dec-03-17 22:13

From https://oureverydaylife.com/can-use...king-41680.html
Quote:
While you wouldn't want to bake a cake with only konjac flour, it can play an important role in baking as a gluten-free thickening product. Konjac flour, or konjac gum as is also called, has up to 10 times the viscosity of cornstarch, yet does not contain starch or sugar and has no calories. Use konjac flour along with whole-wheat flour to improve the texture of baked goods or put it to use to thicken pies, puddings and cakes.
When using konjac flour as a thickener, measure the konjac flour carefully and don't be tempted to add more than needed, as this can ruin an item by making it overly thick or hard. Konjac flour can be boiled, but extended boiling after adding konjac flour can cause it to become runny and lose its viscosity once the item cools. If thickening a sauce, pie filling or pudding, do not boil the mixture for more than one minute after adding the konjac flour.

Kristine Mon, Dec-04-17 03:13

Hi and welcome. I'd recommend googling around for tried-and-true recipes, and reading the comments. There are quite a few out there, though I haven't tried them.

cotonpal Mon, Dec-04-17 05:00

I used to make a pudding with konjac flour and coconut milk. I had to use very little flour or it got much too thick. It's been a long time since I've made it so I can't remember the exact amount but it was very little. This was not a cooked pudding just coconut milk, cinnamon, vanilla and konjac flour.

Jean

Scuba22 Tue, Dec-05-17 15:31

Thanks for the responses. I have tried googling and though there are plenty of cold recipes out there I was looking for something hot. I admit I am a bit surprised at how few recipes I can find.

I think I may not be mixing it well enough when I add it to the liquid, I am using a hand mixer but I will try it for longer next time. I also read to try mixing it with a small amount of cold water prior to adding it to the recipe but that was the worse result yet!

Meetow Kim Sat, Feb-24-18 12:36

I just recently found out about Konjac. Don't know a lot about it yet but it was the fist nutritional information I ever saw where the fiber was higher than the carbs. The product I looked at was a knjac noodle product floating in liquid. The Konjac powder I just found on Amazon is an even carb/fiber ratio, but still, net carb free. Not sure how that noodle product arrives at negative carbs. I suspect labeling is sometimes less than precise, especially with imported foods. I could be wrong, but I've seen different nutritional info on different sized package of the same product in my local Asian market with very different numbers in the same serving size.

I cant help you with using this stuff yet as I haven't bought any yet, but I'm now curious since you and others have been using it as a thickener, I wonder if it would behave like cornstarch for coating fried foods. I like to shake my chicken wings in cornstarch or rice flour before deep frying for instance, and while the carbs are not a total killer for Atkins phase 2 and beyond for the amount of cornstarch needed, if I could find an alternative, it would remove those carbs and I could enjoy the carb allowance in some other form.

Its amazing the products one runs in to when looking at stuff like this. I searched Amazon for the Konjac flour and ended up adding this baking blend to my wish list

https://www.amazon.com/Trim-Healthy...=cm_wl_huc_item

And this Baobab powder that seems like it might come with a lot of flavor for just a little carbs

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZIS4V...GKHZ7RQH3W&th=1

One could go broke on this low carb diet stuff!

Buttoni Fri, Apr-20-18 19:28

I have it and use it regularly in various ways. Although some use if for thickening, I haven't had too much finding the right amounts for it as a thickener. Invariably I get stuff too thick. But I have developed a great "dumpling" with it that has been very popular over the low-carb arena. Many really talented cooks have played around with that recipe and come up with some incredible stuff! I use small amounts of it in breads, cakes and muffin recipes as a texture enhancer and volumizer. Here's the dumpling recipe, and no, the amounts are NOT incorrect. Makes 12

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1½ T. glucomannan powder (Konjac powder)

1½ T. oat fiber (For gluten-free version, try substituting oat flour ground from 100% gluten-free oats, but I’m not making any promises that will work. It SHOULD, however. Carbs will be only slightly higher.)

1/8 tsp. salt

¼ c. +2 T. water

1 extra large or jumbo egg, beaten

VARIATION: Add 1-2 T. finely chopped parsley to the dry ingredients

DIRECTIONS: Beat the egg in a small bowl with a fork. Add the water and beat until well blended. On a paper plate or in another bowl, mix the dry ingredients well. Slowly sprinkle the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring with a fork or whisk. Switching to a rubber spatula, stir and begin to fold the slowly thickening mixture over and over itself until it is a contiguous batter and eventually turns into a thick, almost dry dough. I let mine sit by the stove 2-3 minutes. Then, using a teaspoon, dip 3/4″-1″ dollops of the dough into your palm. This step is important: roll them gently in your palms into a ball shape. I set the balls on my counter or a silicone sheet until all are made. If you just drop them directly into the broth from the spoon without rolling, they tend to fall apart in the broth during cooking. Or using your hands, roll the dough into ropes on plastic wrap and cut into short lengths for gnocchi, if that’s your pleasure.

Have your soup/broth boiling. Drop the round dumplings/gnocchi into broth and immediately turn fire medium-low so it will only gently simmer. This is IMPORTANT, as you don’t want to “rough up” these delicate babies. Cover with tight lid. From the time you cover the pot, set timer for exactly 10 minutes for dumplings (8 minutes for smaller gnocchi). I like to remove chicken, meat or large chunks of vegetables to a platter while the dumplings are simmering to allow ample room for the dumplings to rise and swell up. DO NOT LIFT THE LID or disturb the pot during cooking. After 10 minutes (8 minutes for gnocchi), lift the lid and VOILA!! They’re done! You may have to thicken the stock further depending on your personal preference, but the dumplings themselves usually take care of thickening, as some of the glucomannan in then sloughs off into the broth, thickening it right up.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 medium-large 1½” dumplings (24 gnocchi), each contains: (halve the numbers for each gnocchi)

7.17 calories, 0.49 g fat, 1.38 g carbs, 1.29 g fiber, 0.1 g NET CARBS, 0.61 g protein, 55 mg sodium

and here's a link to the photo: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2018/...inal-dumplings/

Ms Arielle Fri, Apr-20-18 20:53

I have yet to find this product. SO when I make cooked puddings I use eggs for the thickener. Takes a little practice to not curdle the pudding, but it is really a matter of long slow heating and stop heat as it starts to thicken.

Will thicken more when cooled in frig.

JLx Sat, Apr-21-18 08:11

Peggy, I've followed all the dumpling discussions and wish I could ask my chef to make me some. Well, I wish I had a chef! (Someday I'm going to try them.)

I've tried a cold gluc-pudding recipe that was popular elsewhere and thought it was gummy and awful, but I've used it successfully in baked goods when called for. I tend to use xanthan gum more as a thickener, as I have it in a shaker container.

One tip I've seen about gluc and thickening hot food is to mix it into a little fat, like melted butter, first and then into the dish.

I use Thick It Up (and some cream) for gravy. It works great and I don't get any complaints from the non low carbers.

Buttoni Sat, Apr-21-18 09:40

I use xanthan gum for thickening sauces and gravies. It also enhances texture of baked goods, so nice to have it in the pantry.

~MsArielle, you can order glucomannan powder from Netrition.com, where I have always ordered mine. A bag will last you a VERY long time, as it is used in such small amounts. or Bob's Red Mill has it, but unless you're fortunate enough to have a grocer with his full line, you'll likely have to order that from his website as well. Some health food stores carry it, as I bought my very first ever from a natural food store. You might even check a Natural Grocers if you have one of those. They just might carry it. Google it for other possible sources.

Meetow Kim Fri, Apr-27-18 07:24

I'm looking forward to making Buttoni's dumplings. There is also a recipe for making pasta with Buttoni's dumpling recipe as its origin I am looking forward to...now that I am through with the rubber band leathery tofu noodles and the strange konjac only noodles.

Here's the thread with the noodles, looks like fun:
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/s...ad.php?t=820442

Also, I've made Buttoni's cheddar cheese biscuits a couple times now, they are delicious, and since they are not really flaky or crumbly like a regular biscuit, they can be used for sandwiches. I am on phase 2, sort of, with Atkins concept, not as strict, so I'm now adding in some low carb breads. I made the cheddar biscuit recipe increasing the size to make only 6 larger biscuits, and then treated them like rolls, using them for hamburger buns for burgers somewhere between slider and full size with about 2.6 ounce burgers, dressed with lettuce, one tomato slice, some onions and mayo and had real burgers with bun for the first time since January 1 this year. Very enjoyable, my wife and I had two with just dill pickles on the side for dinner. The cheddar biscuits are best warmed for such a use, it makes them very pliable and soft like a real bun and the Konjac flour gives them enough structure to hold up to being eaten as a burger bun and stay together until the last bite...if you size the burger right of course.

I see no one had a comment about using Konjac for light deep fry coating. I will do this experiment myself. I have some chicken wings to play with this weekend, I'm going to try dusting one with Konjac like I do cornstarch or sweet rice flour and drop in the deep fryer just to see what happens!

Oh, and Buttoni's right about the Xanthan gum, and a trick I've learned is if you dont have a specific recipe exact amount you know to use, what I do is keep the Xanthan gum in a salt or spice shaker and shake it a little at a time over a sauce or stew type dish until i get the consistency I want. Using too much makes more of a gel or mucus, so being careful is key. It also doesn't dissolve readily in a lot of stuff, so the shaker helps to introduce it in a finer spread, making it mix in with liquid much easier...but unless you pre-measure and put just that amount in a shaker, you have to eyeball it. you could also use a small fine sieve with a pre-measured amount to do something similar...sort of like sifting flour

Netrition's prices are pretty fair, especially if you order $100 worth of stuff and get free shipping. They also have a lot of sugar free low cab stuff. I bought a sugar free jam that is really good, and they sell black soy beans...an amazingly low net-carb bean.

Amazon can be a good resource for some of this unusual stuff, but can be expensive

Meetow Kim Sun, Apr-29-18 09:53

So I did an experiment deep frying chicken wings with konjac flour. It worked!

Here's where I need to work on this. When I first coated and fried a single wing piece, removed it, let cool a minute then tossed with buffalo sauce, it was fantastic and pretty crunchy. A second single wing piece was the same.

When I fried 6 or 8 at a time, then tossed them all in the sauce together, the konjac coating seemed to soften and become less crunchy. I even took a batch straight from the deep fryer and spread them out on a wire rack to cool, then sauced them immediately before plating and still had the same semi-soft results.

They were fantastic! But still not sure how to retain the crunch that was there on the single piece experiments. There was still some underlying crunch on the wings, but the konjac coating seemed to become part of the sauce. It was actually very good and made the sauce thicker, but not the result I was aiming for.

One thing I didn't do was fry a batch of wings with no coating at all, just to do a comparison. I'll play around with this some more and report my results

One thing very noticeable is the konjac flour browned a lot more than cornstarch or sweet rice flour, the other two coatings I use. This did not seem to change the flavor of the wings from what I could tell.

I could have eaten 25 of these wings last night! I only made 8 each for my wife and I though...smartly, because I would have devoured all I made and these do still have calories! BUT...a nearly zero carb chicken wing dinner WITH a flour type coating. There was more carbs in the celery we had with them than the wings!

bluej Sun, Apr-29-18 21:04

I'm not up to speed on Konjac flour but --

Back in the day (when I was a carnivore) I used to dip the chicken pieces into beaten egg and then roll them in grated parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven as normal - delicious crust.

Very interesting thread, thanks :)

Meetow Kim Sat, May-05-18 10:10

Buttoni,

I sent you a PM, but in case that doesn't reach you:

I tried your dumplings recipe, and everything went exactly as described, I followed it exactly, they looked good, but they were really dense. Not fluffy at all.

Any Idea what could have been wrong? Would boiling them longer make them softer do you think?

Again, I followed the recipe exactly, all the way down to switching to the rubber spatula halfway in to adding the dry to the wet.

Boiled gently, everything was textbook. Except they just weren't that good! something had to be wrong

Buttoni Sun, Jul-01-18 11:44

I never state in the recipe this dumpling is "fluffy" like your Momma's flour dumplings. The mouth feel is similar, but they are indeed somewhat dense. Those that like fluffy will just not like this recipe. These are more like the al dente Italian style noodles and dumplings. But the hubs and I like that kind. In general, people either really like this dumpling recipe or really don't. You may fall into the latter category.


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