SC - RE: roux from a newbie

[J. Scott & Arisa Ballentine]

Philip & Susan Troy quoted:

>> How long you brown
> > the flour determines the final color of the gravy, short time for white
> > gravy, browned well for up to 10 minutes for really dark gravy. It
> > develops a stronger, nutty flavor the longer it cooks (this is what the
> > Cajuns call a roux, BTW).

Well, the French certainly use the term roux as well.  There are 3 classic
stages of roux:

white:	cooked just enough to get rid of the starchy taste - no color change
	- very strong thickening power.

blonde:	also called "popcorn" roux because there is only a slight change of
	color, but a distinct nutty flavor like fresh popcorn - strong
	thickening power.

brown:	dark, rich roux, usually takes up to thirty minutes to fully
establish
	this roux - very little thickening power - very flavorful - most
	people stop here.

The Cajuns have added an additional step:

black:	extremely dark roux, cooking time is usually at least one hour (note:
	this is usually taken from brown to black in a slow oven), extremely
	flavorful, this is the difference between good gumbo and gumbo -
	virtually no thickening power.

I am a newbie to this list - this was a non-period thread so I didn't think
this comment would hurt.  A little about myself:  In the SCA, my name is
Fergus Stout.  I am from the Canton of Westgate, Barony of Stargate,
Ansteorra (that's West Houston folks).  I have been active in the SCA for a
year after a 7 year hiatus.  Although I am not currently in the industry, I
trained at Western Culinary Academy in Portland, OR.

Fergus Stout
ballentine at earthlink.net

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