Food - Drink
Why The Color Of Your Roux Matters
By KATIE HORST
Roux is a thick paste or liquid made of equal parts fat and starch, but butter and flour are often used as well. This ingredient is often used as a neutral-tasting thickener for soups, stews, sauces, and gravies, but roux can also add flavor to a recipe if you cook it for a while, which can change its color from white all the way to dark brown.
White Roux
White roux is cooked just long enough to get rid of the taste of raw flour, which only takes about 2-4 minutes. A one-to-one ratio of butter and flour will create a creamy and neutral-tasting roux that is a great thickener for cream- or milk-based sauces and soups, including bechamél, cheese sauce, and chowders.
Blonde Roux
Blonde roux, the color stage right after white roux, is cooked for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until the mixture starts to smell nutty. Unlike with white roux, the fat in blonde roux is cooked a bit, but its thickening power is still intact, making it a suitable and flavorful choice for sauces and soups made with chicken stock.
Dark Roux
Dark roux, which comes after blonde roux, varies in color from medium to dark brown, and can be cooked for 15 to 45 minutes. This longer cooking time reduces the roux's thickening abilities, but produces a rich flavor with smoky and chocolatey notes, which makes dark roux popular in Cajun and Creole cooking.