I am trying to make packets of instant pudding that do not need heating, in order to thicken the mix to form a cold dessert. Some sanity has to be found in my kitchen, as most foods are home cooked because of my allergies.
I have attempted to test rice paper and tapioca flour (Australian brand and Chinese or East Asian product), potato starch, and puffed amaranth breakfast cereal, thinking that some value or gel might result from my efforts. (It has not.)
Inquiries regarding pre-gelatinised products result in blunt dismissal, as those products here in Australia are reserved exclusively for medical reasons to celiacs or patients with problems swallowing, and supply is restricted to local chemists.
Is the supply of these products restricted by requirements for a doctor's prescription? If not, how or where can I obtain them?
Best Answer
To expand on what others above have said, Ultratex is tapioca starch, specifically tapioca maltodextrin. I imagine maltodextrin must be available in Australia. Occasionally health food stores sell it.
If you go to khymos.org and search for the downloadable PDF 'Textures: A hydrocolloid recipe collection,' you will find within a whole bunch of different thickening products (both trade names and chemical names). Alternatively, simonjohnson.com.au carries the Texturas line of products from Albert and Ferran Adria, which includes a variety of thickening and gelling agents.