[Sca-cooks] period gravy/roux

[Stefan li Rous]

 >>>>>
yep, Varenne is the first instance I've seen of a roux type sauce.  
neat, huh? :)

--Anne-Marie

On Mon Jun 12 16:34 , John Kemker  sent:
> Stefan li Rous wrote:
>
>> To bind the sauce, take a little chopped bacon, pass it through
>> the pan, which when melted remove it, and stir in a little flour,  
>> which
>> you will let turn well russet, and dilute with some broth and vinegar
>
> Sacre' Bleu!  It's a roux!
>
> --Cian
 >>>>>

Actually there appears to be at least one earlier example, and it is  
prior to 1600 CE.

<<< The earliest use of flour and fat to make a roux I know of is  
from Sabina
Welserin (1553), where there are several.  Here is one from Valois
Armstrong's translation:

"First, when you would make a black sauce, you should heat up a  
little fat
and brown a small spoonful of wheat flour in the fat and after that  
put good
wine into it and good cherry syrup, so that it becomes black, and sugar,
ginger, pepper, cloves and cinnamon, grapes, raisins and finely chopped
almonds. "

It sure sounds like a roux thickened sauce to me.

Bear >>>

This message, and other commentary on period roux/gravy, as well as  
Varenne's recipe that started this thread, can be found in this file  
in the FOOD-CONDIMENTS section of the Florilegium:
gravy-msg          (8K)  9/ 1/00    Period gravy. Renaissance, not  
medieval.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-CONDIMENTS/gravy-msg.html

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****