On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1171

viscosity.Afterreduction,theconcentration
ofstarchinthesesaucesisaround5%,the
gelatinconcentrationprobablyabouthalfthat.
TheFirstPrintedRecipeforRoux
Itwaslongthoughtthatthefirstrecipesfor
roux appeared in late 17th-century French
cookbooks,buthereisoneoftwoGerman
recipesfrom150yearsbeforeLaVarenne.
Theysuggestthatthisversionofthestarch
thickener was developed in late medieval
times.
HowtoCookaWildBoar’sHead,Also
HowtoPrepareaSauceforIt
Awildboar’sheadshouldbeboiledwellin
waterand,whenitisdone,laidonagrate
andbastedwithwine,thenitwillbe
thoughttohavebeencookedinwine.
Afterwardsmakeablackoryellowsauce
withit.First,whenyouwouldmakea


blacksauce,youshouldheatupalittlefat
andbrownasmallspoonfulofwheatflour
inthefatandafterthatputgoodwineinto
itandgoodcherrysyrup,sothatit
becomesblack,andsugar,ginger,pepper,
clovesandcinnamon,grapes,raisinsand
finelychoppedalmonds.Andtasteit,
howeveritseemsgoodtoyou,makeitso.
—DasKochbuchderSabina
Welserin,1533,transl.ValoiseArmstrong

Milk-BasedSauces:BéchamelandBoiled
Saucesbasedonmilkratherthanstockareof
coursemucheasiertomake,andmore
forgiving;becausethey’realreadymilky,the
cookdoesn’thavetoworryaboutlong
simmeringtoclarifythem.Theclassicstarchthickenedmilksauceisbéchamel,whoseonly
otheringredientsareseasoningsandthebutter
inwhichthestarchisprecookedforacouple
ofminutes.Oncethemilkhasbeenaddedto
theroux,thesauceissimmeredfor30–60
minuteswithoccasionalskimmingoftheskin