How to Make a Roux and Ways to Use It

How to Make a Roux?

Roux is used as a thickening agent to create a wonderful texture for sauces and soups, the kind that coats a spoon nicely, isn’t runny, and is delightful on its own.

To make a roux, you need only two ingredients in equal quantities:

• A fat source, traditionally butter, but here we use a plant-based option, oil.
• Flour

Then, simply heat the oil first, add the flour, and whisk it on low heat. The cooking times depend on the type of roux you want. ⬇️

The Different Types of Roux

There are four shades of roux, each used for different purposes. From white to dark brown, cooking a roux longer creates a nuttier flavor but gradually reduce its thickening power.

The White Roux

Cooked for just a few minutes to remove the flour flavor, a white roux thickens any sauce, without adding any flavor. The béchamel and the velouté, two of the French mother sauces, are great examples of using a white roux.

The blond Roux

When cooked a bit longer, the roux turns blond and develops a slightly nutty flavor. It's still effective for thickening but is especially good in soups and sauces. A bit less thickening, I use it to make my warm and cozy winter potato soup.

The brown roux

A roux cooked around 6 to 8 minutes will turn brown and have a stronger nutty flavor with a lesser thickening property. It is also used in another French mother sauce: La sauce Espagnole (don’t reproduce it at home, it’s not plant-based 😅)

The dark brown roux

If you cook your roux for 30 to 45 minutes, it becomes a dark brown roux. Extremely flavourful, it is used in specific cuisines like creole.

3 alternatives to roux

Roux is excellent for thickening, but there are other ways if it’s not what you need. You can switch it up with options like cashew cream, just using your pasta water or even the lesser-known xanthan gum.

Cashew Cream

Cashew Cream is a staple in vegan cooking. It adds creaminess to a dish where a roux would only thicken. It’s a great replacement option. I use it regularly in my creamy mushroom risotto.

Starch

Some recipes don't require extra ingredients to make great sauces, and pasta is the perfect example. As it cooks, pasta releases starch into the boiling water. Once the pasta is cooked, transfer it along with a spoonful of its starchy water to your sauce and stir well. This technique coats the pasta evenly, creating a wonderful texture.

It works wonderfully with gnocchi; I use it every single time in my Gnocchi and Asparagus Recipe.

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan Gum is a safe food additive used to thicken sauces. It is commonly used in the food industry but less common in our kitchen.

Roux is great but requires a high volume of it in your sauce to thicken it. Where a roux might cast a shadow over the flavors of the dish, Xanthan gum will let the other flavors shine brightly!

Of course, this solution might not be as common in home kitchens, but it's quite accessible. I want all the food geeks reading this to be in the know! 🤓

Final Note

Now you know everything about the 4 shades of Roux. Anytime you read a recipe with the steps “Add oil or butter to a pot, then add flour”, you can proudly say: “It’s a ROUX”!