On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1168

starch into a sauce. The first is to mix the
starch with some cold water, so that the
granulesarewettedandseparatedbeforethey
encounter gelation temperatures. The starchwaterslurrycanthenbeaddeddirectlytothe
sauce. A second method is to separate the
starch or flour particles not with water, but
withfat.Beurremanié,or“kneadedbutter,”is
flour worked into a paste with its weight in
butter.Whenapieceofthepasteisaddedtoa
hot sauce in need of last-minute thickening,
the butter melts and gradually releases
greasedstarchparticlesintotheliquid,where
their swelling and gelation are slowed by the
water-repellingsurfacelayer.
Athirdmethodforgettingstarchintoa
sauceistointroduceitearlyinthecooking,
notlate.Manystewsandfricasseesaremade
bydustingpiecesofmeatwithflour,then
sautéingthepieces,andonlythenaddinga
cookingliquidthatwillbecomethesauce.In
thiswaythestarchhasalreadybeendispersed


overthelargesurfaceareaofthemeatpieces,
andithasbeenprecoatedwiththesautéing
fat,whichpreventsclumpingwhentheliquid
isadded.
Roux The fourth method for getting starch
intoasauce,andonethathasbeendeveloped
into a minor art of its own, is to preheat the
starch separately in fat to make what the

French call aroux, from the word for “red.”
The basic principle works with any form of
starch and any fat or oil. In the traditional
Frenchsystem,thecookcarefullyheatsequal
weightsofflourandbutterinapantooneof
three consecutive endpoints: the mixture has
had the moisture cooked out of it, but the
flourremainswhite;theflourdevelopsalight
yellowcolor;ortheflourdevelopsadistinctly
browncolor.
Improvements in Flavor, Color, and
DispersabilityInadditiontocoatingtheflour
particles with fat and making them easier to