Glucomannan Recipes

[crikarlshamn]

Thank you both,

Fozzie, Maybe someone else living in Europe would benefit if you post where or whom ship with reasonable prices?

Billie, I will retry my original recipie with my pure glucomannan tomorrow morning, 9pm here right now.

Wish you both a lovely evening.

[tofucheez]

by "jelly" do you mean konnyaku? or do you mean a spread like jam?

I have a jar of unsweetened apricots that I plan to whir up with some gluc to make a jam-like spread. I haven't done it yet because I don't want a slimey product, like the gluc puddings, but you got me thinking that perhaps I could cook it for a better consistency. i may add a titch of pickling lime, as well. Then I think it will firm up kinda like the Walden Farms jams.

[crikarlshamn]

Tofucheez,

Here you can see I'm not 100% anglophone, thank you!
Jelly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Swedish a gelé, is like jell-o.
Gelé - Wikipedia

Sweet konnyaku, like jell-o is my goal.
similar to this;
Konnyaku Fruit Jelly Recipe | Let's Get Fat Together

But in bed with fever so only if I find the strength later on.

Happy day to you all.

[fozzie99]

I have posted info in the past about purchasing things and the sphincter police took my PM priviliges away. I can't risk it.

[crikarlshamn]

Fozzie,
Ouch, and agree, not worth it. Can not believe I found only high shipping with the hours I searched.
Well, will now, between my sneezes, make a second try with my ginger, lemon and maple recipie.

[crikarlshamn]

Hello again,
Great taste this time, nice jell-o type concistency but not tranclucent.

For liquid of half a cup
Mixed very well 3cm3 of peeled ginger in 0.5 dl water in a Magic bullet, strained.
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbs maple syrup
2 tsp pure glucomannan

I mixed and heated but really the heat does nothing to the concistency.
Spread out to a 3mm thick cake and ready to cut in 30min

Refreshing and lovely, specially when sick in bed "smile".

[Mobear]

I am really craving chicken pot pie (no crust). I found a recipe on Linda Sue's website but don't know how much gluc to use. Her recipe calls for 1c chicken broth and 1c heavy cream and 1 1/2tsp xanath gum(sp?).

Anyone have any idea how much gluc powder I would use in place of the xgum? Don't want to buy anything else for thickening since I have a lifetime supply of gluc

TIA!

[tofucheez]

Mobear-

Hopefully someone else will chime in here, but I would guess maybe 1 tsp? If you decide to "wing it" and add a little at a time, remember that gluc thickens more the longer it stands, so add a little, then be patient and WAIT to see how much it thickens over 15 minutes

PS this is a lesson learned the hard way....several times!

[scalestepper]

I don't know the conversion but I would start with a teaspoon.

Also, I made some peach jam my dh loves...
1 can of sliced peaches, splenda added, no sugar
1 tsp gluc, 1/8 tsp xanthan gum (approx) more can be added if needed

Heat the peaches and juice in the microwave about 3 minutes, stir in the powders, pulse in the magic bullet, add art. sweetner to taste, refrigerate.

[Mobear]

Thanks, I may start with 1/2 tsp and work up. I don't have a lot of experience with gluc but I've made soup which I thickened. Gosh for the soup with 6 or 7 cups of liquid I used 1tsp so for 2c in the pot pie maybe I'd better start REALLY small! Could end up with wallpaper paste

[Ghoti]

I have successfully made some noodles using the condiment bottle and Steves formula (2 cups water, 2 1/4tsp and 1/8 tsp pickling lime). Has anyone made them using bouillon instead of the 2 cups water and if so what
were the results?

[fozzie99]

I have used bouillon as long as it's clear with out a lot of "stuff" in it it will be OK. Add more bouillon than called for gluc powder tends to suck the life out of things flavor wise.

[metqa]

Yeah, Chipotle bouillon does NOT gell properly. You'll end up with big globs of pink goo that tastes like smoked pepper! LOL

Nor does Cilantro bouillon work either. Keep it Clear!

Beef, Chicken, Fish, Pork, Veggie... I haven't tried onion yet...

ETA: Mushroom is great, so is dashi, miso red or white, shrimp too.

[penguinpower]

I just can't get these noodles to work I'm good in the kitchen and can make anything I set my mind to, but these noodles just...argh! The only way I've managed to get a decent result is to virtually double the gluc powder others are using, and then I get a noodle that holds its shape but tends to be on the chewy side.

Fozzie - you had mentioned making a special scoop and discovering that the measuring spoons you were using held different amounts even though they both were supposed to be the same type of spoon (ie. tsp/tsp). I'm wondering if that is my problem, since I do get noodles when greatly increasing the gluc powder but just get mush when I carefully measure out the 1-1/4 tsp most seem to be successful with.

Has anybody who is successful with these noodles ever weighed the gluc product versus using measuring spoons?

[Yaz]

Originally Posted by penguinpower

I just can't get these noodles to work I'm good in the kitchen and can make anything I set my mind to, but these noodles just...argh! The only way I've managed to get a decent result is to virtually double the gluc powder others are using, and then I get a noodle that holds its shape but tends to be on the chewy side.

Fozzie - you had mentioned making a special scoop and discovering that the measuring spoons you were using held different amounts even though they both were supposed to be the same type of spoon (ie. tsp/tsp). I'm wondering if that is my problem, since I do get noodles when greatly increasing the gluc powder but just get mush when I carefully measure out the 1-1/4 tsp most seem to be successful with.

Has anybody who is successful with these noodles ever weighed the gluc product versus using measuring spoons?

Are you using 1-1/4 tsp PER Cup of water?

[penguinpower]

Yes - 2 cups water whizzed with 1/8 tsp of Mrs. Wages lime, then dividing the two cups into two one-cup portions. Then, add 1-1/4 tsp gluc to one cup, whiz, let sit for a while. After much experimentation it seems I need to add 2.5 tsp to each one-cup portion to get a noodle that holds its shape I'm using konjac gluc from Netrition.

I tried the 1-1/4 tsp to one-cup ratio numerous times, letting the gel firm up for various times before extruding - as long as 45 minutes. Always end up with mush

I'm going to pull out my digital scale and see if I can weigh the gluc and compare a couple of different measuring spoons to see if the ones I'm using are causing the problem.

[Yaz]

Are you squirting your gel into boiling or simmering water? I find that my water has to have no bubbles or the noodles will boil apart. I let my water get to a boil then turn it down. Squirt in the noodles and once they have all risen to the top of the pot and are looking "set" I then turn up the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

[fozzie99]

I have a med saucepan I'm back to using. Let it come to a roiling boil then squirt gel in......bubbles stop immediately and strands of gel sink to bottom of pan. Sometimes they don't look like noodles until they rise to the surface and turn white. My noodler delivers about 14 strands of gel at once to the water maybe that's why mine hold together. The gel should "set" as soon as it hits the surface of the hot/boiling water. When I'm squirting I can tell if the gel is "stiff" enough by the amount of force required to extrude the gel. If it's below a certain level I let it sit awhile longer.

[SlowSure]

Originally Posted by crikarlshamn

Sweet konnyaku, like jell-o is my goal.

I'm likewise very partial to those konnyaku sweets and wish they were available in the UK - or even the packet mix to make them.

Originally Posted by crikarlshamn

Great taste this time, nice jell-o type concistency but not tranclucent.

Well done - I've run several experiments but I've never managed a decent consistency so I must try this.

[penguinpower]

Thanks Yaz and Fozzie - I had been bringing the water to a boil and then lowering it to a simmer before adding noodles, but next batch I'll try what Fozzie suggests. It could be that the "noodler" I'm using is making too many strands. I got this gadget online and it works great for noodles using the dumpling recipe, and squirts out lovely strands of shiratake that disintegrate lol



I have been using the medium round-hole die that has way more than 14 strands at a time. I've had somewhat better luck with the flat die - I get linguini-size noodles but they clump together terribly. For now I have to try to eat up the big bowl of glop I made yesterday, so it may be a few days before I do another experiment! Thanks for the suggestions.

[island girl2]

Where do you get pickling lime - I live in Canada.

[penguinpower]

If you have any stores that sell canning supplies, you might be able to find it there. I had to order mine online. Canning doesn't seem to be too popular in my area, so the few places that sell canning jars around here don't carry the pickling lime.

[island girl2]

Thanks penquinpower,
I guess i will do that - I have friends in the states that will be coming to the islands next month so will order it sent to their address and then can bring it to me.
Bonnie

[fozzie99]

Your tool looks great for making noodles! Make sure you hold it completely verticle and close to the surface of the water.

[tofucheez]

penguin--i'm sorry it isn't working for you. I've been making them for years, and in my experience, the exact amount of gluc doesn't really matter. I never measure it, I just go by consistency. And I add it to bubbling water, too.

Hmmmm........what kind of water are you on (city, well...)?

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by tofucheez

penguin--i'm sorry it isn't working for you. I've been making them for years, and in my experience, the exact amount of gluc doesn't really matter. I never measure it, I just go by consistency. And I add it to bubbling water, too.

Hmmmm........what kind of water are you on (city, well...)?

Since my noodle-making failure, I am so appreciating this discussion - particularly that you go by consistency rather than the measure.

But do you keep the pickling lime/water ratio constant?

Thanks!

[MsWoods]

I just wanted to chime in and say, I am a lover of all things glucc and shiratake. I am a bit of a glucc/shiratake queen. However, I have had 0 success in making the noodles. I've tried several times and several ways. I have resigned to the fact that I rather just pay for them. I just cannot make them, and really don't have the time to keep trying. I have found yam cake blocks at my local asian grocery store (they used to sell huge packages of the noodles for 1.99 -_-), and I am just going to start cutting them for noodles and chopping them finely for rice.

[tofucheez]

Ms Woods--

I prefer to buy them, too, even though I consistently have success making them.....it's just such a PITA to do all the time. I buy the 14oz bags (double the "regular" size) for 1.60 each. I never eat out, don't buy coffees at the shops, etc, so this is my food splurge. I still make noodles about once per week (a huuge batch) just to make myself feel better about saving a few bucks, but they're not my main source. FWIW, I find the homemade ones to have a "starchier" and less bouncy texture than store bought.....and I prefer the bouncy texture. I know lots of people dislike that texture, though. But then again, I've always disliked regular pasta, even as a child.

[fozzie99]

To make the homemade noodles "bouncier" just increase the gluc powder a little and cook longer.......like 30 or 40 min.

[penguinpower]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to make another try, and bump up the lime just a teeny tiny bit. I tried weighing out 1/8 tsp on my scale to see if there's a difference between spoons and the 1/8 tsp wouldn't even register a weight lol.

I've tried with well water, "city" water and distilled water.

Now I'm just kinda determined! I am going to make these work.

But, I must say, if I could buy them for anything approaching $1.60 for 14 oz I'd never do anything but buy. In my area, the 8-oz package is $2.19, and no bigger packages to be found. I can buy the 8 oz. bag slightly cheaper if I make a special trip to the asian market, but then they're $1.89 and often don't even have them in stock.