What
is Roux?
Roux (pronounced “roo”) is a thickening agent for soups and sauces with roots dating back more than 300 years in French cuisine. Made by cooking a flour and oil paste until the raw flavor of the flour cooks out and the roux has achieved the desired color, a good roux gives dishes silky-smooth body and a nutty flavor, and thickens soups and sauces.
Home
cooks usually make roux with butter, but it can also be prepared with olive oil
or bacon grease! The difference between roux and other thickeners (like corn starch)
is that the starch, in this case flour, is cooked before use. Cooking removes
the flour’s raw taste but maintains its excellent thickening properties. This
makes roux a stable, smooth, and delicate thickener. Cooked to a golden or
brown stage, roux takes on a rich, toasted flavor, adding color to soups and
stews.
How
to Make Roux?
Roux
takes just a few minutes to make. Whether you are making just enough for a
single dish, or a batch to divide and freeze for later, the proportions of
ingredients are the same: 1 part oil or fat and 1 part all-purpose flour, by
weight. If you have a kitchen scale, this is easy to measure. If you do not
have a kitchen scale, use measuring cups or spoons to measure 1 part oil or fat
and 1-3/4 parts all-purpose flour.
I’ll
explain how to make a small batch.
Begin
by heating 2 tablespoons oil or fat in a saucepan over medium heat until a
pinch of flour sprinkled into the oil will just begin to bubble. Then, whisk in
3-1/2 tablespoons of flour to form a thick paste the consistency of cake
frosting. Continue whisking as the roux gently bubbles and cooks to the shade
desired. Do not allow the roux to bubble too vigorously, or it will burn rather
than brown.
Whisk
for Extra Smoothness
After
cooking roux, you’ll usually add a liquid ingredient to make a sauce (milk
added to white roux, for example, makes white sauce).
To
ensure lump-free thickening when making sauces, the liquid ingredient should be
cold or room temperature, and slowly whisked into the hot roux. Do this by
adding the liquid a little at a time, whisking until smooth between each
addition, until the roux forms a thin paste, then whisking in the remaining
liquid and bringing the mixture to a simmer. Cold or room temperature roux is
simply whisked into a simmering soup or sauce until it dissolves. These methods
ensure the roux is incorporated slowly and the mixture will not form lumps.
White
Roux
Blond
Roux
Blond,
or golden roux, is cooked approximately 20 minutes to a light, golden-brown
shade with an aroma resembling popcorn or toasted bread. This is the most
commonly-used roux, desired for the richness and a slight nuttiness it provides
along with its excellent thickening power. Blond roux is a good,
general-purpose roux to keep on hand for thickening stock-based sauces, soups,
and stews.
Brown
Roux
Brown
roux is cooked about 35 minutes until it reaches a peanut butter-brown color.
Its aroma is more pronounced and sharper than the nutty smell of blond roux.
Cooked to this stage, flour begins to lose its thickening power, requiring more
roux to thicken a given amount of liquid.
Dark
Brown Roux
Even
darker than the preceding brown roux, dark brown roux is cooked approximately
45 minutes until it is the color of melted milk chocolate. Its aroma is
mellower than the strong, roasted flavor of brown roux, and will actually smell
a little like chocolate. This stage has the least thickening power of all four;
its main purpose is as a flavoring agent with thickening being secondary.
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