The Voodoo that Roux Do

You need a firmer scientific background to help you understand all this stuff.

Tank said:

What chemical action makes a roux function? What causes it to create a lovely smooth sauce or
gravy when you add the broth or other liquid? Why does it work better than using a thickener after
making the sauce, such as corn starch or flour & water?

--
Tank This Space To Let

"Tank" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What chemical action makes a roux function? What causes it to create a lovely smooth sauce or
gravy when you add the broth or other liquid? Why does it work better than using a thickener after
making the sauce, such as corn starch or flour & water?

Cornstarch and flour & water make *different* smooth sauces than roux, and I use them for different
sorts of sauces. May I suggest Harold McGee's excellent book on kitchen science, "On Food and
Cooking," for more information than you *ever* wanted to know on the subject.

-j

Tank said:

What chemical action makes a roux function?

The stickinification of the flavor ion makes the taste of the fluid more palatial.

--Blair "Email for details."

"Kent H." <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

You need a firmer scientific background to help you understand all this stuff.

You're *presuming* that he doesn't have an adequate background to understand this. Do you? Or is it
that you don't and can't explain it.

Quoted message said:

Tank said:

What chemical action makes a roux function? What causes it to create a lovely smooth sauce or
gravy when you add the broth or other liquid? Why does it work better than using a thickener
after making the sauce, such as corn starch or flour & water?

--
Tank This Space To Let

Blair P. Houghton said:

Tank said:

What chemical action makes a roux function?

The stickinification of the flavor ion makes the taste of the fluid more palatial.

--Blair "Email for details."

Personally, I think the word is "fat".

K.

--

Quoted message said:

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Hark! I heard "Tank" <[email hidden]> say:

Quoted message said:

What chemical action makes a roux function? What causes it to create a lovely smooth sauce or
gravy when you add the broth or other liquid? Why does it work better than using a thickener after
making the sauce, such as corn starch or flour & water?

Others have already answered your question, but may I suggest "Cookwise" by Shirley O. Corriher?
It's a great book that focuses on the science of cooking...

--
j.j. ~ mom, gamer, novice cook ~ ..fish heads, fish heads, eat them up, yum!

"Tank" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

What chemical action makes a roux function? What causes it to create a lovely smooth sauce or
gravy when you add the broth or other liquid? Why does it work better than using a thickener after
making the sauce, such as corn starch or flour & water?

Okay, my answer may not be exactly right, but I have an OK knowledge of food science, so I suppose
that you could call this an "educated guess".

I am willing to bet that the chemical action that makes a roux function is the same as any other
starch thickener (liason): the starch absorbs the liquid. However, the more that flour is cooked,
the less thickening power it has. So, by cooking it with fat for a period of time, it weakens the
thickening ability and gives a smooth, rich sauce rather than a gummy or gluey one.

What do you mean by "work better"? I would say that this one depends on the recipe. For example, I
use cornstarch and water to thicken a stir-fry sauce, beurre manie (raw butter and flour kneaded
together) for coq au vin, dark roux for jambalaya, medium roux for gravy, tapioca or arrowroot for
fruit pies, etc...

HTH, Erica

In article said:

What chemical action makes a roux function? What causes it to create a lovely smooth sauce or gravy
when you add the broth or other liquid? Why does it work better than using a thickener after making
the sauce, such as corn starch or flour & water?

From a google search on - roux science cooking

Science explains... Roux is a type of batter, made from butter and flour, used to thicken sauces.
When liquid is added to flour, the starch granules inside the flour begin to swell when they reach
64°C. Heating the mixture further makes them rupture. The flour starch is released into the liquid
and starts to thicken it. This is known as 'gelatinisation'.

So when flour is mixed with hot liquid, the exterior portion of the starch granules become
gelatinised and sticky. They then bind around the dry starch granules, forming pockets of dry flour
trapped inside a sticky ball - or 'lumps'.

Adding liquid to the roux gradually whilst stirring, ensures that the starch granules heat up
evenly, so they swell in unison. This results in a smooth, lumpless sauce.

--

Charles The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at
when we created them. Albert Einstein