[Sca-cooks] emulsifications

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Oct 29, 2009, at 11:35 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote:

> Gravies are emulisified sauces, right?

Not usually.

Gravies are usually thickened with something starchy (flour, starch,  
etc.)

Emulsified sauces are emulsions; mixtures of liquids that ordinarily  
don't want to mix, like oil and water, say, which, when mixed  
properly, thicken due to surface electrostatic charges on droplets.

Emulsions / emulsified sauces include thick vinaigrettes, some honey  
mustards with some oil beaten into them to lighten their texture and  
flavor, mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, Hollandaise Sauce, Bearnaise Sauce,  
Beurre Blanc, Beurre Rouge, and even properly melted chocolate.

> Is this Mayonnaise-like sauce a roux? Perhaps I should have named  
> this file around roux(s) or emulsions. What *is* the plural of "roux"?

Roux is a preparation, almost a verb. There is no plural, except as  
multiple examples of the technique. It's kind of like, what's the  
plural of photography? You can have more than one batch of roux, or  
more than one use, but roux is roux.

More simply, the plural of roux is roux.

Adamantius






"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,  
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's  
bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter