>I cannot stand the taste of raw flour, and find arrowroot and corn >starch too finicky. The thing I don't like about corn starch is that it will not hold it's thickening power against a long cooking time: It will break down if it is simmered too long or at too high a temperature. Also, it doesn't reheat well. To get around the taste of raw flour, you can just brown it a bit in a skillet first, cooking it to get rid of the "raw flour" flavor. Or you can masa to the chili instead, which works well and adds a hearty sort of corniness to the stew. Or, of course, you can go on adding potato flakes, which is an old trick I've used a lot and it works great. :-) === Dave Sacerdote davesas@tiac.net Resist or Serve. "I am so mighty, I do not have to kill you all." -- Flaming Carrot Visit Dave's New England Almanac: http://www.tiac.net/users/davesas