how to make a cornstarch glaze?

[dougl]

I want to make a cornstarch glaze to go on baked goods. It's a good non-egg white way of making seeds adhere. But whenever I try to make it, by mixing cornstarch and water, and then heating it, it turns into a lumpy mess. Loads of stirring and lump-squashing make it sorta usable. But how do I make a glaze that comes out uniform and smooth? What's the trick? Maybe you have to start with the right cornstarch/water ratio?

 

[chefwriter]

Can it be a slightly sweet glaze? Apricot jam is frequently used because of it's moderate flavor.
Maybe a different starch like arrowroot or potato starch.

 

[dougl]

OK, I should have just Googled it. My mistake was using a tablespoon of cornstarch with a few tablespoons of water. You stir that in, and it's a loose liquid. But you heat it, and BOOM, it jells completely. The right recipe is one tablespoon of cornstarch mixed in ONE CUP of water! So yes, you have to have the cornstarch/water ratio more sensible.

That being said, that's a nice idea to flavor it with some jam.

 

[brianshaw]

I want to make a cornstarch glaze to go on baked goods. It's a good non-egg white way of making seeds adhere. But whenever I try to make it, by mixing cornstarch and water, and then heating it, it turns into a lumpy mess. Loads of stirring and lump-squashing make it sorta usable. But how do I make a glaze that comes out uniform and smooth? What's the trick? Maybe you have to start with the right cornstarch/water ratio?

Your technique may be faulty. Mix cornstarch and water thoroughly BEFORE heating.

 

[dougl]

Sorry, that's pretty obvious. Why would I heat the powdered cornstarch dry? I said I was "mixing cornstarch and water, and then heating it."

 

[brianshaw]

LOL, dougl, and I hoped you knew and was actually doing that. You wouldn’t believe how often people dump cornstarch or flour into a hot liquid to in attempt to thicken... only to get a clumpy mess.

Before I posted you seemed to figure out that your slurry needs to be more liquid.

I can’t point you to a source but knowing the “thickening power” of your chosen thickener is useful information. Generally expressed as x grams of this thicker per y milliliter liquid. If sugar syrup, though, the thickness will be expressed by temperature.

 

[dougl]

Well, that's a fair point. Don't put flour or cornstach into HOT liquid. But I did say originally that I mixed and then heated.

And, as I said, I already learned what the thickening power of cornstarch was.

 

[brianshaw]

Ok. You got it worked out. Bye.