Roux is best described as a thickener for sauces.

Roux is best described as a thickener for sauces.

• A. Bechamel
• B. Velouté
• C. Espagnole
• D. Roux

Answer: (D)

Roux is a cooked mixture of fat and flour that acts as the thickening base for many sauces. When fat and flour are combined and heated, the flour’s starch granules swell as they meet liquid, giving sauces body and a smooth texture. Roux can be white, blonde, or brown, depending on how long you cook it, which also alters flavor while keeping its thickening power. That makes roux the best description because it’s the ingredient used to thicken sauces and gravies, not a finished sauce itself. The other names are actual sauces that use roux to achieve their thickness—for example, a white sauce blends milk with a white roux, a velouté uses white stock with roux, and espagnole uses brown stock with brown roux.

Roux is a cooked mixture of fat and flour that acts as the thickening base for many sauces. When fat and flour are combined and heated, the flour’s starch granules swell as they meet liquid, giving sauces body and a smooth texture. Roux can be white, blonde, or brown, depending on how long you cook it, which also alters flavor while keeping its thickening power. That makes roux the best description because it’s the ingredient used to thicken sauces and gravies, not a finished sauce itself. The other names are actual sauces that use roux to achieve their thickness—for example, a white sauce blends milk with a white roux, a velouté uses white stock with roux, and espagnole uses brown stock with brown roux.