Thickening old mushroom soup

Question

Made a great soup with wild mushrooms . to thicken before serving I tried 2 tablespoons of corn starch mixed in water stirred it in slowly and cooked while stirring for 5 minutes - no thickening! What do I do now?

Answer 1

For cornstarch to thicken, two things are required: a temperature of 95°C/203°F, and to be left alone for a while to gather its thoughts. Cornstarch causes thickening by building a network of starch molecules. Once this has formed, stirring just breaks the network and the thickening effect is ruined.

Make up a new cornstarch slurry and add it a little at a time to the simmering soup. Only stir it enough to incorporate it through - don't keep stirring after that.