A roux is flour cooked in fat to thicken and flavor sauces, soups and stews. The longer it cooks, the darker and more flavorful it becomes, while its thickening power decreases.
Choose the stage
- White roux: brief cooking for pale sauces such as béchamel (member preview).
- Blond roux: slightly nutty, useful for light stock-based sauces.
- Brown to dark roux: deeper flavor and color for selected brown sauces, gumbo and related dishes.
Prevent lumps and scorching
Cook over controlled heat, stir through the corners of the pan and add liquid in a way that lets the roux disperse smoothly. If dark flecks smell burned, start again; burnt flour will not improve with more liquid.
Where roux fits
See how roux supports the five mother sauces, the soup-building formula and dishes such as étouffée. Use the fuller material below for technique details and applications.
Roux is flour cooked with fat to thicken sauces, soups, and stews. The longer it cooks, the more its color and flavor change. This lesson explains the equal-weight method, the main roux colors, and how to incorporate liquid.
Roux mixtures are very effective and heat-stable thickeners. A roux is made by cooking a mixture of 50% (by weight) of flour and 50% fat. Bleached flour, pastry and cake flours, with their lower protein/higher starch content, give sauces and soups a satiny finish. Butter, whole or clarified are commonly used in making a roux. Chicken fat, the fat from beef dripping or lard add additional flavor to a roux. Vegetable oils and shortening may be used when no additional flavor is desired.
White, blond and brown roux
There are generally three color variations on a roux, white, blond, and brown. These are also referred to as light, medium and dark. Some cooks define other shades in-between these including a very dark, almost black roux. A white roux has the aroma of freshly-baked bread and is used in a white sauce. A blond roux has the aroma of freshly popped popcorn, a toasted flavor and is used to thicken sauces that are golden in color. A brown roux has deep nutty flavor and is used to thicken dark and richly flavored sauces and soups.Color, flavor and thickening power
How long a roux is cooked determines its thickening power and flavor. The longer a roux is cooked the darker the roux becomes. A dark roux has more flavor but significantly less thickening ability than a light roux. For example, a dark roux used in a traditional gumbo recipe is more about the nutty flavor and color from the dark roux than its (limited) thickening ability. For a roux to achieve its full thickening potential, the roux and liquid must be brought to a boil. Liquids, especially those thickened with a lightly cooked white or blond roux should be simmered to cook out any raw flour taste.Combining roux and liquid
When making a roux, use a heavy non-reactive pan and a wooden spoon or heat-proof spatula. Use utensils suited to the pan; avoid scraping a reactive aluminum surface with a metal utensil. Whisking itself does not inevitably turn roux gray. Temperature contrast is one way to combine roux and liquid, but it is not the only method. Cool or room-temperature roux can be worked into hot liquid; warm roux and warm liquid can also be combined gradually. Avoid pouring liquid into extremely hot roux, which can spatter. As a rule-of-thumb, one pound of a light roux will thicken one gallon of liquid to a medium-thick consistency of a cream soup or gravy.Roux versus beurre manié
Beurre Manié is an uncooked roux. It is made by kneading equal amounts of softened butter and pastry or cake flour. A small bit of the paste is then whisked into a hot liquid to achieve the desired thickness. A beurre manié is often used to thicken a small amount of sauce or a pan sauce. Larger amounts of sauce would typically be thickened with a roux. Like a roux, a liquid thickened with a beurre manié must reach the boiling point to achieve its full thickening potential and should be simmered 3 to 5 minutes to remove any raw flour taste.Build a sauce from the basics
Compare roux with other sauce thickeners, choose a liquid with the stock and broth guide, and review au sec when a recipe calls for reduction. If the sauce will accompany pasta, follow the pasta cooking guide so both components are ready together.
Practice roux in a complete dish
Follow a full free recipe and notice how roux changes the flavor, color and body of the finished dish.
Cook the full free Gumbo recipe
Explore White Sauces: Béchamel & Velouté. Protected lessons and complete member recipes require membership.
Build the technique behind the recipe
Practice heat control and one cooking method at a time, then use it in a complete meal.