What is roux?
Q: What is roux?
A: Roux is a cooking mixture of wheat flour and fat (such as butter, clarified butter, vegetable oils or lard) used as a thickening agent for gravies, sauces, soups and stews.
Q: Which cuisines use roux as a base for their dishes?
A: Roux is used as a base for many types of French sauce as well as Italian, Cajun, and Hungarian cuisines.
Q: What are the three mother sauces in French cuisine that use roux?
A: The three mother sauces in French cuisine that use roux as a thickening agent are sauce béchamel, sauce velouté and sauce espagnole.
Q: Is roux made with equal parts of flour and fat by weight?
A: Yes, roux is made with equal parts of flour and fat by weight.
Q: How is roux made in Italian cooking?
A: In Italian cooking, roux is traditionally made with equal parts of butter and flour.
Q: What is the difference between roux in Cajun and French cuisine?
A: In Cajun cuisine, roux is almost always made with oil instead of butter and it is dark brown in color, which imparts a richer flavor but less thickening power than the roux used in French cuisine.
Q: What type of fat is commonly used in Hungarian cuisine for the preparation of roux?
A: In Hungarian cuisine, rendered lard or vegetable oils are commonly used instead of butter for the preparation of roux, which is called rántás in Hungarian.
