How to make a basic roux (1:1 butter to flour) and cook out the raw flour taste
Whisk equal weights of butter and flour into a paste and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes to remove raw flour flavor.
The chef uses 75 g unsalted butter and 75 g unbleached white flour, whisking into a paste. He stresses cooking it on low heat for about five minutes so the flour taste doesn’t carry into the finished sauce.
The short version
- Use equal weights butter and flour for this roux
- Cook on low heat to remove flour taste
What you need
- pan
- whisk
How to do it
- 1
Melt butter in a hot pan (75 g shown).
Watch this step - 2
Add equal weight flour (75 g shown) and whisk to form a paste.
Whisking helps prevent lumps later.
Watch this step - 3
What goes wrong
Not cooking the roux long enough and tasting raw flour in the sauce
Cook the roux on low heat for ~5 minutes as shown.
Why it works
Heat gelatinizes starch and drives off raw flour flavor, creating a smoother thickening base.
Learn next
How to make a quick blueberry compote by heating fruit with a little sweetener and water until jam-like
Heat blueberries with a splash of maple syrup and a little water, stirring until it thickens to a jam-like compote.
Reduce a sauce until it turns sticky and coats the food
After mixing in sweet and salty liquids, simmer until the sauce boils down and looks sticky to concentrate flavour and help it cling to the meat and veg.
How to make a quick warm fruit topping by heating fruit with sweetener
Heat fruit with a little sweetener in a pan to create a warm topping you can pour over chilled foods.
How to make a quick warm fruit topping for oats
Heat fruit with citrus and sweetener to create a spoonable topping you can add over chilled oats.