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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Ingredients, Stocks & Sauces

Roux

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/ruː/nounCommon term

In culinary arts & cooking, roux means: A mixture of equal amounts of fat, usually butter, and flour cooked together and used to thicken sauces and soups.

In Turkish: meyane, roux

How it is used

The base of béchamel and velouté. A roux is cooked to different colours: white, blond or brown, depending on the sauce. Chefs say make a roux, cook out the roux (to remove the raw flour taste) and add the liquid gradually.

Example sentences

  1. Make a white roux and add the hot milk slowly, whisking all the time.

  2. Cook the roux for a few more minutes; it still tastes of flour.

Common collocations

  • make a roux
  • white roux
  • brown roux
  • cook out the roux
  • mother sauceOne of the five basic sauces of classic French cooking, as set out by Escoffier: béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise and tomato. Many other sauces are made from them.
  • whiskA tool made of loops of wire on a handle, used to beat air into eggs and cream or to mix sauces smoothly. As a verb, to whisk means to beat with this tool.
  • stockA flavoured liquid made by simmering bones, vegetables and aromatics in water for a long time, used as the base for soups, sauces and braises.
  • saucepanA deep, round metal pan with one long handle and often a lid, used for boiling, simmering and making sauces.

More terms: Ingredients, Stocks & Sauces

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