Sometimes necessity can lead to a good discovery.

[Mr.Bill]

Last edited Fri May 21, 2021, 07:46 PM - Edit history (1)

My wife and I had some corn on the cob left over so she decided to make corn chowder. As she began to make it, she discovered we had no potatoes. We just did grocery shopping yesterday so we didn't want to go to the store again.

Then I realized we did have some Tater Tots in the freezer. So we dumped those in the chowder. We knew they would disintegrate, but figured we would still have the potato flavor needed in the chowder.

The wonderful discovery was what a great thickener they turned out to be. Next time I make beef stew, I'm going to try some in that for a thickener. Sorry, we rarely go by a recipe or measure ingredients when we make stews chowders and sauces, so you'll have to experiment with amounts. They broke up almost immediately, so you can always start with a few then add more as needed.

[soothsayer]

1. Clever!

[The Polack MSgt]

2. I'll keep this in mind

With just the 2 of us - we don't buy potatoes in big bags any more, but I love tater tots and we have a bag in our chest freezer AT ALL TIMES

Good for my wife's curry or my hunters stew. Appreciate it Mr. Bill

Cheers

[Warpy]

3. The thickener is masa harina

or what they list as yellow corn flour. Actually, the ingredient list isn't as objectionable as a lot of processed foods. What put me off them was the oil they use, it always tasted overused to me, like a Fryolator that hadn't been cleaned out since Prohibition.

So if you want a cheap and not terribly dirty thickener, go ahead and use them. They'll also contribute an extra onion flavor, always a great thing in savory recipes. I think I'd prefer them as a thickener than as themselves, I'd just skim off the oil.

[Mr.Bill]

4. Thanks for the info.

I just knew that it worked. Now I know why.