Hello fellow BTDers  

I am an O blood type and was wondering what i could use to thicken stews/soups etc instead of corn flour?

Glad to find you here..

I haven't tried this yet but found while making rice milk that rice flour when added to liquid thicken very quickly.

perhaps a few tests required

why not add a bit a quinoa maybe- or sweet potato. just a thought.

Any starch will work. Rice flour, tapioca, arrowroot, etceteras.

yes any compliant starch. Most ideal for you and easy is rice flour. unless you are a gatherer then oat flour. Are you drawn to either one?

My friend is an O and she is short and round, she is drawn to oats and does really well on them. She doesn't do well with rice. She is an O gatherer.

My husband is an O. He is tall and slender and he is not drawn to oats. He doesn't like oat stuff. He likes rice and does well on it. He is an O hunter.  

Let your soup boil.  Stir flour into a little water to make a paste, then pour it into the soup.  Stir till thickened.

heck, I just usually dump the rice flour in there.  But it has juices already in there.  Not dry of course.

My favorite is arrowroot but I use 1/2 to 2/3 what the recipe calls for.

In soups and stews, I've been making a roux which thickens up quite nicely.  Melt ghee in a heavy saucepan, add spelt (or any compliant flour) until it's a thick paste then cook until light brown, stirring every once in a while.  Should take about 20 minutes, cooking longer is fine just don't burn it.  I've heard you can make a big batch and freeze it for future use.

Arrowroot is what I use as well.

Wow, thanks everyone for the replies  

So it seems Rice flour and arrowroot are winners, so i will try these.

Stefina i don't know if i am a gatherer or hunter as i am only new to the BTD.
I do well with rice so will probably stick with that. I have found it hard to buy oats/oat flour that is certified gluten free here (often they are processed at same place so may be contaminated), and me and gluten do not seem to mix!

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Sweet Rice Flour... I love it so much it's hard not to put it in all caps.  Makes really great gravy and soup.  Use like wheat flour, but if it clumps up a little, just keep adding liquid and stirring and you can usually smooth it out again.  (AKA glutinous or sticky rice flour, can be found in health food stores or cheap in Asian markets)

Arrowroot is a good sub for corn starch, for the more clear sauces, but for everything else I prefer sweet rice flour.

Regular rice flour will work, but has to be cooked longer to smooth out the texture and I just find it harder to work with.

water chestnut flour works well, too : )

Quoted from Stefina

yes any compliant starch. Most ideal for you and easy is rice flour. unless you are a gatherer then oat flour. Are you drawn to either one?

My friend is an O and she is short and round, she is drawn to oats and does really well on them. She doesn't do well with rice. She is an O gatherer.

My husband is an O. He is tall and slender and he is not drawn to oats. He doesn't like oat stuff. He likes rice and does well on it. He is an O hunter.  

I'm a gatherer and I can't tolerate oats at all, even though they're supposively "neutral" on my SWAMI. I do fine on rice, and even better on basmati rice or quinoa (but for flour I mostly use brown or white rice flour, depending on the recipe in question. white rice flour makes for smoother sauces, brown rice flour or quinoa flour works better in bean or salmon patties.)

I'd have to agree with the rice flour.  I've also used arrowroot, but it is a bit more 'temperamental' than using sweet rice.

Changeling