Roux

Roux, roux also, burn or Schwitzmehl (French: Roux ), is a heated mixture of wheat flour and fat, which serves to bind soups and sauces. Depending on the degree of browning is called white ( blanc Roux ), blond ( blond roux ) or brown roux ( roux brun ), so that the bound with the roux sauce gets a more or less dark color. The roux is part of several basic sauces of classic dishes such as the béchamel sauce.

Choice of fat

Fat which is used for the production, is dependent on the desired flavor note or by the recipe. For the brown and the blond roux largely anhydrous fat, such as lard or vegetable fat is. These fats begin until about 180 ° C to 220 ° C to burn and keep the higher temperatures while tanning of the flour was. For the white roux is best butter or substitute margarine use. Due to the higher water content of the boiling point is critical here lower at about 120 ° C.

Preparation

For the preparation of the fat in a pot or pan is melted, added the flour and heated, stirring constantly (to be sweating ). Approximately to the ratio of three parts powder to apply two parts of fat. Depending on the heating time and the water content of the fat used will now lose the roux to about 10 % by weight. Due to the heat, the starch of the flour is digested to dextrin and the roux loses the floury aftertaste. The digested by heating starch has the increased binding capacity for the given liquid then added. In preparation of the white roux ( roux blanc) the temperature must be kept low so that the mixture does not discolor and does not burn hydrous fat. Blonde roux ( roux blond ) gets a little hotter prepared so that it assumes a golden yellow color. The brown roux ( roux brun ) is heated longer.

The hot roux is quenched with cold liquid (water, broth, rear or base broth or milk) and stirred until smooth. Are you add hot liquid, clots can form. Cooled roux is dissolved on the other hand, in hot liquid. Then they must cook just below the boiling point, so that the digested starch can bind again for at least 15 minutes.

If the roux for the binding of basic liquors in the preparation of sauces used, it should be noted that the mass of Roux binds approximately 12 times the amount of broth. By slowly cooking the bound base sauce for flavor intensify loses about another third of liquid ( eg 25 g for 300 ml Roux broth yields approximately 200 ml of sauce reduction).

Special form

A special form of roux is possible in the preparation of brown sauces. The flour is dusted directly after searing of bones and vegetables. The brown roux is formed with the roasting of the material for frying in the existing fat. This approach can save operations. It is also applicable in some white sauces, if after searing the flour is dusted with onions and other additions will mitgeschwitzt not too hot without proper browning.

In addition to the roux, there are other binding methods, which are based on the effect of heated starch. To this end, the addition of flour or butter instead of flour starch include the use of cold is rührter potato or corn starch for a clearer binding.