<p>So the gravy I was making was a bit too thin, so I added flour … lots of flour … heat it up over a pan to let it brown and suddenly it was like I had a dish like mashed potatoes with the gravy already mixed into it. Which makes me ask – why make mashed potatoes from potatoes anyway? Isn’t just mixing flour into spiced and herbed gravy so much easier? It took me like … 3 minutes.</p>
<p>(And I didn’t even have actual drippings … I used melted imitation butter spread.)</p>
<p>Potatoes have nutrients and flavor that flour doesn’t have.</p>
<p>galoisien, my stomach is churning. You cooked flour-and-water *paste<a href=“the%20kind%20I%20learned%20to%20make%20in%20Kindergarten%20in%201958/59”>/i</a>. Granted, you cooked–and ate–gravy-flavored paste, but it was still paste.</p>
<p>Do your intestines a favor, and keep a box of instant mashed potatoes (I recommend Idahoan brand) handy. Instant mashed potatoes have saved the day for me many times, because I hate to cook, but I love mashed potatoes. It’s possible to make instant mashed potatoes taste almost as good as the real thing (if you make them extra thick), and it’s possible to flavor them with gravy mix and other spices.</p>
<p>My maternal grandmother (a fantastic ethnic German cook) used corn starch to thicken gravy. A little went a long way, it worked better and faster than flour, and it didn’t give the gravy a bland, floury taste.</p>
<p>Best Wishes</p>
<p>Off topic, the next time your gravy is watery, you can add a tlbsp of potato flakes .</p>
<p>Also, what you can do is take ice cold water add flour and then put int the gravy that is boiling, boil for a minute or 2 and it will thicken.</p>
<p>goodness, galoisien, please experiment with chemicals (imitation butter???) in the lab, not in your kitchen! 
Potatoes are cheap; peel a few, cut in chunks, boil until soft, drain, add butter and heated milk (or broth, if you do not eat dairy), mash and enjoy. Cheap, filling and yummy. Definitely beats eating paste. You can get a plastic potato masher at Target for $1 or $2.</p>
<p>That, my friend, sounds nasty. If your mashed potatoes taste like flour paste, I recommend trying a different kind of potato :)</p>
<p>If your gravy is too thin, you can either make more roux (the hard way) or you can add cornstarch (the easy way) - but of course please mix the cornstarch into cold water only!</p>
<p>And you can always use a corn or vegetable oil instead - unless you heat it sufficiently, imitation butter spread contains too much water to use for a roux (it’ll end up too lumpy when you add the flour)</p>
<p>Seems to me that if you’re going to all the trouble of making a roux, real butter is the only way to go.</p>