Roux Ingredients
Roux (roo) is a cooked mixture of equal parts by weight of fat and flour.
FAT
The cooking fats employed for making roux are as follows:
Clarified butter is preferred for the finest sauces because of its flavor. The butter is clar-
ified (p. 192) because the moisture content of whole butter tends to gelatinize some of
the starch and makes the roux hard to work.
Margarine is widely used in place of butter because of its lower cost. However, its
flavor is inferior to butter, so it does not make as fine a sauce. The quality of margarine
varies from brand to brand.
Animal fats, such as chicken fat, beef drippings, and lard, are used when their flavor
is appropriate to the sauce. Thus, chicken fat can be used for chicken velouté, and beef
drippings can be used for beef gravy. When properly used, animal fats can enhance
the flavor of a sauce.
Vegetable oil and shortening can be used for roux but, because they add no flavor,
they are not preferred. Solid shortening also has the disadvantage of having a high
melting point, which gives it an unpleasant fuzzy feeling in the mouth. It is best reserved
for the bakeshop and the fry kettle.
Today, roux-thickened sauces are often condemned for health reasons because of the
fat content of the roux. It should be remembered, however, that when a roux-bound velouté
or brown sauce is properly made, most of the fat is released and skimmed off before the
sauce is served.
FLOUR
The thickening power of flour depends, in part, on its starch content. Bread flour has less
starch and more protein than cake flour. Eight parts (such as ounces or grams) of cake flour
has the same thickening power as 10 parts of bread flour.
Bread flour frequently is used for general cooking purposes in commercial kitchens even
though it has less thickening power than cake flour or pastry flour. Most sauce recipes in this
book, as well as in other books, are based on bread flour or on all-purpose flour, which has
similar thickening power. The proportions of roux to liquid must be adjusted if another flour
is used.
Flour is sometimes browned dry in the oven for use in brown roux. A heavily browned
flour has only one-third the thickening power of unbrowned flour.
In addition to starch, wheat flour contains proteins and other components. As a roux-
thickened sauce is simmered, these components rise to the surface as scum. They then can
be skimmed off. Sauces are generally simmered for a time even after the starch is completely
gelatinized so these “impurities” can be cooked off. This improves the texture, gloss, and
clarity of a sauce. When a high-protein flour such as bread flour is used in a roux, the sauce
must be cooked longer and skimmed more often to achieve good clarity.
Sauces made with wheat flour do not freeze well because some of the starch breaks
down when frozen, reducing its thickening power.
INGREDIENT PROPORTIONS
Correct amounts of fat and flour—equal parts by weight—are important to a good roux. There
must be enough fat to coat all the starch granules, but not too much. In fact, Escoffier called
for even less fat than our standard proportions (8 parts fat to 9 parts flour).
A good roux is stiff, not runny or pourable. A roux with too much fat is called a slack roux.
Excess fat increases the cost of the roux unnecessarily; the excess fat rises to the top of the
sauce, where it either is skimmed off or makes the sauce look greasy.
Preparing Roux
A roux must be cooked so the finished sauce does not have the raw, starchy taste of flour.
The three kinds of roux differ in how much they are cooked.
White roux is cooked for just a few minutes, just enough to cook out the raw taste.
Cooking is stopped as soon as the roux has a frothy, chalky, slightly gritty appearance,
before it has begun to color. White roux is used for béchamel and other white sauces
based on milk. In spite of its name, white roux is actually a pale yellow because it is
made from butter and (usually) unbleached flour.
Blond roux, or pale roux, is cooked a little longer, just until the roux begins to change to
a slightly darker color. Cooking must then be stopped. Blond roux is used for veloutés,
or sauces based on white stocks. The sauces have a pale ivory colour.
Brown roux is cooked until it takes on a light brown color and a nutty aroma. Cooking
must take place over low heat so the roux browns evenly without scorching. For a deeper
brown roux, the flour may be browned in an oven before adding it to the fat. A heavily
browned roux has only about one-third the thickening power of white roux, but it
contributes flavor and color to brown sauces.
Operations that depend on roux-based sauces
and soups generally make quantities of roux in bulk and
keep it available throughout the production period for
thickening sauces. If you don’t make batches of roux
as part of the mise en place, you can also make it as
part of the production process for an individual sauce.
In the recipes in this section, making the roux is part
of the recipe. However, they can easily be changed to
use a prepared roux. For example, in the Velouté Sauce
recipe (p. 184), omit the flour and use just enough
butter to sweat the mirepoix. After adding the stock,
beat in 8 oz (250 g) prepared blond roux.
Incorporating the Roux
Combining the roux and liquid to obtain a smooth, lump-free sauce is a skill that takes practice
to master. It’s a good idea to practice the various techniques with water, under the guidance
of your instructor, so you understand what you are doing before you start working with
valuable stocks.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Liquid may be added to roux, or roux may be added to liquid. The liquid may be hot or cooled, but not ice cold. A very cold liquid will solidify the fat
in the roux. The roux may be warm or cold, but not sizzling hot. Adding a hot liquid to a very hot
roux causes spattering and, possibly, lumps. Most chefs find they get the best results by combining a cold (or cool) liquid with a hot
roux, or a hot liquid with a cold roux.
Within these general guidelines, there is room for a number of variations. Two of them
are described here. Because successful use of roux is largely a matter of experience, you are
advised to profit from your instructors’ experience when they demonstrate these techniques
or whichever methods they prefer.
Equipment note: Stainless-steel pans are best for white sauces. Whipping in an aluminum
pan makes the sauce gray.
Other Thickening Agents
Starches
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Beurre manié (burr mahnyay) is a mixture of equal parts soft, raw butter and flour
worked together to form a smooth paste. It is used for quick thickening at the end of
cooking to finish a sauce. The raw butter adds flavor and gives a sheen to the sauce
when it melts.
To use, drop very small pieces into a simmering sauce and stir with a whip until
smooth. Repeat until desired consistency is reached. Simmer just a few minutes more
to cook the flour, and then remove from the fire.
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Whitewashisathinmixtureofflourandcoldwater.Saucesmadewithwhitewashhave
neither as good a flavor nor as fine a texture as those made with roux. Whitewash is
not recommended for use.
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Cornstarch produces a sauce that is almost clear, with a glossy texture.
To use, mix with cold water or other cold liquid until smooth. Stir into the hot liq-
uid. Bring to a boil and simmer until the liquid turns clear and there is no starchy taste.
Do not boil for a long period or the starch may break down and the liquid become thin.
Sauces thickened with cornstarch may thin out if held on the steam table for long peri-
ods. Cornstarch is used extensively in sweet sauces to accompany certain meats as well
as in desserts and dessert sauces. It has roughly twice the thickening power of flour.
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Arrowroot is used like cornstarch, but it gives an even clearer sauce. Its use is limited
by its high cost. Nevertheless, because of its quality, it is the preferred starch for thick-
ening jus lié. It is less likely than cornstarch to break down when heated for a long time.
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Waxy maize is used for sauces that are to be frozen. Flour and other starches break
down and lose their thickening power when frozen. Waxy maize does not. It is handled
like cornstarch.
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Pregelatinizedorinstantstarcheshavebeencooked,orgelatinized,andthenredried.
Thus, they can thicken a cold liquid without heating. These starches are rarely used in
sauce-making but are frequently used in the bakeshop.
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Breadcrumbsandothercrumbswillthickenaliquidquicklybecausetheyhavealready
been cooked, like instant starches. Bread crumbs may be used when smoothness of
texture is not desired. A common example is the use of gingersnap crumbs to thicken
sauerbraten gravy.
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Vegetable purées, ground nuts, and other solids can also be used. A simple tomato
sauce is basically a seasoned vegetable purée. The sauce gets its texture from the
thickness of the main ingredient. No additional thickener is needed.
Using this same principle, we can add body or texture to sauces by adding a
smooth vegetable purée, or by puréeing mirepoix or other vegetables with the sauce.
Other puréed or finely ground ingredients, such as ground nuts, add texture as well as
flavor to a sauce.
Egg Yolk and Cream Liaison
In classical cooking, a liaison is a mixture of egg yolks and cream, used to enrich and lightly
thicken a sauce or other liquid. Egg yolks have the power to thicken a sauce slightly due to
the coagulation of egg proteins when heated. Caution must be used when thickening with egg yolks because of the danger of curdling.
This happens when the proteins coagulate too much and separate from the liquid.
Pure egg yolks coagulate at 140° to 158°F (60° to 70°C). For this reason, they are beaten
with heavy cream before use. This raises their curdling temperature to 180°–185°F (82°–85°C).
(Note this is still well below the boiling point.) The heavy cream also adds thickness and
flavor to the sauce. Egg yolks have only slight thickening power. The liaison is used primarily to give richness
of flavor and smoothness of texture to a sauce and only secondarily to give a slight thickening.
Also, because of the instability of the egg yolks, it is used only as a finishing technique.
Reduction
Simmering a sauce to evaporate some of the water thickens the sauce because only the
water evaporates, not the solids. As the solids become more concentrated, the sauce becomes
thicker. This technique has always been important for finishing sauces (see the next section).
It has become more important as a basic thickening technique as modern chefs use less
starch for thickening.
Use caution when reducing stock-based sauces. If such a sauce is reduced too much,
the concentration of gelatin may give it a gluey or sticky texture, and it will congeal quickly on
plates. Also, the sauce may have a heavily cooked taste that is not as appealing as the
fresher, livelier taste of a stock that has not been cooked as much.
Finishing Techniques
Remember that the three basic elements of a finished sauce are a liquid, a thickening agent,
and additional seasoning and flavoring ingredients. We have discussed in detail how liquids
are combined with thickening agents to make the basic sauces. In the next section, we look
at the way families of sauces are built on these bases by the addition of flavoring ingredients.
Sauces may be modified or added to in a great many ways. Among these methods are
a number of basic techniques used over and over again for making sauces. Before we
study the structure of the sauce families, it will be helpful to look at these basic finishing
techniques.
Reduction
1. Using reduction to concentrate basic flavors.
If we simmer a sauce for a long time, some of the water evaporates. The sauce becomes
more concentrated, and the resulting product is more flavorful. This is the same tech-
nique used when making glazes from stocks. Some reduction takes place in nearly all
sauces, depending on how long they are simmered.
2. Using reduction to adjust textures.
Concentrating a sauce by reduction also thickens it because only the water evaporates,
not the roux or other solids. A skilled sauce chef uses both reduction and dilution to
give a sauce the precise texture sought. If a sauce is too thin, it may be simmered until
it reaches desired thickness. Or the chef may add a large quantity of stock or other liquid
to a thickened sauce to thin it out greatly, then simmer it again until it is reduced to
just the right consistency. By doing this, the chef also gives more flavor to the sauce.
3. Using reduction to add new flavours.
If we can add a liquid to a sauce, then reduce it to concentrate it, why can’t we reduce
a liquid first and then add it to a sauce? In fact, this is one of the most important techniques in sauce-making. We have
already mentioned that glazes—reduced stocks—are used to flavor sauces. Reductions
of other liquids, especially red and white wines, are used a great deal in this way. Note how the red wine is
cooked down with shallots, pepper, and herbs to one-fourth its original volume. Not
only is the flavor of the wine concentrated but also the flavor from the other spices is
extracted. This reduction is a powerful flavoring agent that gives bordelaise sauce its
distinctive taste. Reduction allows you to add a great deal of flavor to a sauce without
adding much liquid.
TERMINOLOGY
To reduce by one-half means to cook away one-half of the volume so that half is left.
To reduce by three-fourths means to cook away three-fourths of the volume so that only
one-fourth is left.
To reduce au sec (oh seck) means to reduce until dry or nearly dry.
Straining
If you have learned how to use a roux properly, you should be able to make a smooth, lump-
free sauce. However, to bring a sauce’s texture to perfection, to create the velvety smoothness
that is important to a good sauce, straining is necessary. Even a slight graininess that you
can’t see can still be felt on your tongue. Straining through a china cap lined with several layers of cheesecloth is effective. Very fine
sieves are also available for straining sauces. Straining is usually done before final seasoning.
Deglazing
To deglaze means to swirl a liquid in a sauté pan or other pan to dissolve cooked particles of
food remaining on the bottom. This term was discussed in relation to the basic technique of sautéing in Chapter 4 and
again in connection with the production of brown stock. It is also an important technique for
finishing sauces that accompany sautéed items. A liquid, such as wine or stock, is used to deglaze a sauté pan and then is reduced by
one-half or three-fourths. This reduction, with the added flavor of the pan drippings, is then
added to the sauce served with the item.
Enriching with Butter and Cream
1. Liaison.
In addition to being a thickening agent, a liaison of egg yolks and cream is used to finish
a sauce by giving it extra richness and smoothness.
2. Heavy cream.
Heavy cream has long been used to give flavor and richness to sauces. The most obvi-
ous example is adding cream to basic béchamel sauce to make cream sauce.
3. Butter.
A useful enriching technique, both in classical and in modern cooking, is called finishing
with butter, or monter au beurre (mohn tay oh burr).To finish a sauce with butter, simply add a few pieces of softened butter to the hot
sauce and swirl them in until melted. The sauce should then be served immediately; if
it is allowed to stand, the butter may separate.
Finishing a sauce with butter gives it a little extra shine and smoothness as well as
adding to it the rich, fresh taste of raw butter.
Seasoning
Whether or not a sauce is to be given a final enrichment of liaison, cream, or butter, it must be
checked carefully for seasonings before serving. Remember that the last step in any recipe,
whether written or not, is “adjust the seasonings.”
1. Salt is the most important seasoning for sauces. Lemon juice is also important. These
two seasonings emphasize the flavors already present by stimulating the taste buds.
Cayenne and white pepper are perhaps third and fourth in importance.
2. Sherry and Madeira are frequently used as final flavorings. These wines are added at
the end of cooking (unlike red and white table wines, which must be cooked in a sauce)
because their flavors are easily evaporated by heat.
