Roux
/ruː/noun
A mixture of flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces, soups, and stews.
Did you know?Roux is a classic French culinary term, and while its origin is debated, it is firmly established as the name for the cooked flour-and-fat base that transforms liquids into velvet.
Etymological Timeline
14th Century
French
roux
“reddish; red-brown”
Middle French
French
roux
“reddish-brown, tawny”
Modern French
French
roux
“a cooked flour-and-fat thickening base”
Modern English
English
roux
“a mixture of flour and fat cooked together for thickening”