Replacements for sour cream and for flour ?

Piliger

Hi,

I am dairy and cereal intolerant .. why does it always say sour cream in Goulash recipes ?

And is there anything I can add to Goulash and similar recipes instead of flour ?

Thanks !

.. starting on a journey with a slow cooker for me and my son.

LaChatteGitane

Just omit both. It won't affect the end result very much.:)

oldrnwisr

Piliger wrote: »

Hi,

I am dairy and cereal intolerant .. why does it always say sour cream in Goulash recipes ?

And is there anything I can add to Goulash and similar recipes instead of flour ?

Thanks !

.. starting on a journey with a slow cooker for me and my son.

There is a non-dairy double cream available from Unilever Ireland called Meadowland. That and a squeeze of lemon could be used at a pinch in a goulash or stroganoff.
As for the flour the non-gluten choices include rice, potato or chestnut flour. As a direct substitute for wheat flour I would use rice flour. However, if you're going to make bread or any other recipe where gluten is important then you will need to use a gluten alternative such as xanthan gum.

perfectisthe

Toffuti do a dairy-free sour cream that you can pick up in most health shops.

curly from cork

Instead of sour cream last night we used a tub of tofutti , , It was for a pasta and chicken paprika dish .Unfortunately it has been binned now so I cant look it out for you. We bought it in an alternative / health food shop . tasted perfect.
http://www.tofutti.com/btcc.shtml
They have quite a lot of products which will suit you .

huskerdu

I assume that the flour in a goulash recipe is just a small amount to thicken the sauce. Just leave it out. The result will be a bit runnier. you could reduce the amount of liquid added and leave the lid off to allow the stew to reduce and thicken. cornflour can also be used to thicken sauces.

Piliger

Thanks guys.

Did I hear about coconut something as a replacement for flour for thickening ? I wonder if cornflower is the same as flour ...

What does sour cream achieve anyway ? is is just a thickener ?

Gyalist

Arrowroot flour is gluten free and can be used as a replacement for wheat flour.

Piliger

I visited two tesco's and a major Dunnes food store today and no sign of Arrowroot flour ... and no one in customer services ever heard of it

Any idea who would have it ? (I am in Ranelagh, Dublin)

Little Alex

The brand of arrowroot I have is actually Tesco, so maybe they just don't stock it in your local branches. Dundrum would probably have it.

Just a couple of differences between arrowroot and flour from my experience...

It is clear when added to liquid, not white like flour

It does not need to be cooked like flour; it thickens instantly and has no taste

It will make whatever you add it to look glossy

It does not clump up like flour when you add it to liquid

huskerdu

Piliger wrote: »

I visited two tesco's and a major Dunnes food store today and no sign of Arrowroot flour ... and no one in customer services ever heard of it

Any idea who would have it ? (I am in Ranelagh, Dublin)

Have another look in Tesco. Its in the home baking section. Its called arrowroot, not arrowroot flour and its in a small tub, the same size and shape as the baking power or baking soda.

Calling it arrowroot flour might have confued the staff and they didn't look in the right place.

If your local branch does not have it, Dundrum definitely does and any supermarket with a decent size baking section should have it.
If not, ask in a health food shop.

Piliger

Little Alex wrote: »

The brand of arrowroot I have is actually Tesco,

Wow I will phone them

And thanks for the other info. Appreciate it.

Piliger

I just got a reply from Tesco Customer Services who tell me they don't stock it and are unlikely to

huskerdu

Dr Oetker also do Ground Arrowroot. I saw it in SuperValu in churchtown this morning and I have seen it in Superquinn in the past.

spiralbound

Piliger wrote: »

Thanks guys.

Did I hear about coconut something as a replacement for flour for thickening ? I wonder if cornflower is the same as flour ...

What does sour cream achieve anyway ? is is just a thickener ?

You can use cornflour if you can't find arrowroot, it's made from corn, not wheat if you're avoiding wheat/gluten it is usually gluten free.

The sour cream makes it taste creamy

Piliger

Bought some in the natural food shop "The Hopsack" in the Swan Centre.

€25.40 a kilo .......

huskerdu

Piliger wrote: »

Bought some in the natural food shop "The Hopsack" in the Swan Centre.

€25.40 a kilo .......

€25 a kilo. Holy, Moly. How much did you buy ?

I just saw the Tesco own brand ground arrowroot for 1.39 for 125g, which equates to €11.12 a kilo.

Piliger

spiralbound wrote: »

You can use cornflour if you can't find arrowroot, it's made from corn, not wheat if you're avoiding wheat/gluten it is usually gluten free.

The sour cream makes it taste creamy

Ahhh thanks for that. I am enjoying the whole thing about throwing it all in and leaving it And I will probably figure out the ingredients over time ... I just did my second attempt and it is better than the first one ...

I guess experimenting is the best strategy as I enjoy the home cooked aspect of it even when it fails :cool:

Piliger

huskerdu wrote: »

€25 a kilo. Holy, Moly. How much did you buy ?

I agree ! thankfully i only bought €2 worth ....

I just saw the Tesco own brand ground arrowroot for 1.39 for 125g, which equates to €11.12 a kilo.

Unfortunately none in any store near Ranelagh

Jellybaby1

I finally found the Quinoa I wanted when a staff member eventually checked their computer system and he found it on the list. I will insist they do this in future when looking for products. Arrowroot has always been a very traditional and common product which should be well known. These days staff are out of touch and untrained, and many don't do much cooking, experimental or otherwise. Ask them to check their computer system next time.