BUILDING FLAVOR, BODY AND TEXTURE: PART 6

Thickening can be achieved in two ways: naturally and by using a starch thickener. Natural thickening means using a high-starch food such as potato, rice, beans, or dried peas as an integral part of a dish. As these products cook, their starch content is released into the liquid surrounding them, causing it to thicken, while their flavor is added to the dish. Natural thickening is used mostly in soups, and the thickener is also the major flavor ingredient.

The second way to thicken means adding a starch product whose primary function is to thicken. The thickening power comes from the facts that starch granules, when heated with liquid, will absorb moisture, swell, and becomes jelly like. This process, known as gelatinization, was discussed previously. For a smoothly thickened product the starch granules must be evenly dispersed in the liquid and evenly heated, so that the swelling will take place at an even rate and lumps will not form. These thickeners for hot foods fall into two groups: fat-and-flour combinations and starch-and water combinations.

Roux

Of the fat-flour group, the single most important one for the beginning cook to master is row (roo). Roux is a one-to-one ratio by weight of fat and flour blended and cooked over low heat. The definition is broad: any fat can be used to make a roux. Butter or margarine is the best choice whenever possible. Many fats will impart their own distinct flavor to a product, thus limiting the versatility of the roux. Bacon drippings, for example. Think what they would do to a cream of asparagus soup!

There are several kinds of roux.

White roux is cooked until the mixture is foamy and begins to have a chalky look. Blond roux is cooked somewhat longer, until the roux is blond in color. Brown roux is cooked until the color is brown and the taste is nutty.

To make a roux you melt the fat in a heavy-bottom pan over moderate heat and stir in the flour to make a smooth, lump-free paste. Once the roux is smooth, you lower the heat and cook the roux to the desired degree of doneness—white, blond, or brown. It takes only minutes. It is really simple.

Simple, that is, once you have mastered the technique. There are several tricky parts:

One is smoothing out the roux when you add the flour to the fat. This takes good agitation with a whip and persistence. Eventually the lumps will go. They are tiny clumps of dry flour surrounded by granules that have begun to swell. Agitation breaks these lumps apart and releases the dry flour before the surrounding granules gelatinize. Another tricky point is recognizing the degree of doneness you want when you have reached it. This comes with experience. The neat trick here is to cook long enough without overcooking. Not only do color and flavor change with prolonged cooking, but also the roux begins to lose its thickening power, and by the time you have reached the brown-roux stage the loss is considerable. On the other hand, undercooking has its hazards too. The roux must cook until the flour is fully cooked and no starch taste remains. The flour is at least partly cooked by the time the roux reaches the foamy stage. It cooks further when added to a liquid. The mixture must come close to the boiling point before the flour reaches its full thickening power. To ensure complete cooking, test-taste the thickened liquid and simmer it until all raw-flour taste is gone. Be careful not to brown the roux if you don't want brown roux. The taste is permanent. You can brown it with too hot a fire as well as by cooking it too long.

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