# First you make a roux... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631 "2015-09-26T21:44:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/21 "2015-09-27T16:11:15Z")
A cultural aside, t-shirt spotted on _Treme_: “Roux the Day.” The ability to make a good basic sauce is a major milestone for would-be cooks. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/22 "2015-09-27T17:26:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > O! For Tuna… pot pies! If I had time, I’d teach myself how to make pie crusts, and make creamed tuna for filling. (I’ll also have to get some pot-pie sized cooking vessels. Perhaps the traditional aluminum ones.) An easy substitute for pie crusts: buy a package of puff pastry. Put the pie filling into a ramekin or other suitable oven-safe dish, place an appropriate-sized square of puff pastry on top and bake. I like it better than traditional pie crust. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/23 "2015-09-27T19:30:54Z")
I agree with those saying blue cheese in béchamel - throw in a bunch of baby spinach for the best creamed spinach you’ll ever have. Also look up microwave roux, it so damn easy and quick you’ll be making roux weekly. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/24 "2015-09-27T22:57:18Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Why is it that Cajuns use olive oil to make roux? If I’m not mistaken, butter is used in Creole cooking; why should the two differ so much? > > Olive oil roux isn’t bad, it’s just different! I watched this movie where the guy used what looks like vegetable oil. [http://youtu.be/KE5\_8mLRdGE](http://youtu.be/KE5_8mLRdGE) At around 2:55. It’s a fun movie if you can get a hold of the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/25 "2015-09-28T00:15:39Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Why is it that Cajuns use olive oil to make roux? If I’m not mistaken, butter is used in Creole cooking; why should the two differ so much? > > Olive oil roux isn’t bad, it’s just different! Never heard that. When I took a Cajun cooking class in New Orleans, the woman just used canola oil. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/26 "2015-09-28T00:48:20Z")
Here’s Justin Wilson, the Cookin’ Cajun. He starts making roux at around 2:40: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eK4umRMJlrs/hqdefault.jpg "New Orleans Cajun, Justin Wilson - Gumbo") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK4umRMJlrs) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/27 "2015-09-28T01:11:53Z")
Wife prefers to use canned cream of soup over making a simple, fucking roux. Adds powdered gravy mix to make gravy. If some good came from her being half bedridden it’s that she stays out of the kitchen most days. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/28 "2015-09-28T03:50:41Z")
I used to use roux as a base for nearly everything. Now that I’m doing “the low carb thing” I’ve found good substitutes. A tiny bit of sodium citrate makes an awesome cheese sauces (cauliflower instead of pasta, natch), which keeps the cheese proteins from clumping. I use guar gum to thicken cold stuff, and xanthan gum for hot stuff, or a combination of the two if I need to really thicken something. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/29 "2015-09-28T14:21:20Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Why is it that Cajuns use olive oil to make roux? If I’m not mistaken, butter is used in Creole cooking; why should the two differ so much? > > Olive oil roux isn’t bad, it’s just different! At a guess, because butter is more, you know, French. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/30 "2015-09-28T14:24:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > At a guess, because butter is more, you know, French. And the Cajuns came from … where? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/31 "2015-09-28T14:28:35Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > And the Cajuns came from … where? :dubious: Nova Scotia, etc. France before that, yes, but . . . It has been said of the Creoles that they are like the Chinese in that they eat rice and worship their ancestors. Nobody ever said that about the Cajuns. Different culture, a step further removed from _la belle France._ ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/32 "2015-09-28T14:37:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > And the Cajuns came from … where? :dubious: Maine, and also some little country north of there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/33 "2015-09-28T14:44:09Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > It has been said of the Creoles that they are like the Chinese in that they eat rice and worship their ancestors. … And this makes them more French than the Cajuns? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/34 "2015-09-28T14:46:25Z")
> [@Kyrie\_Eleison](#): > > Maine, and also some little country north of there. 🙂 [http://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/genetics\_center/louisiana/article\_cajunhistory.htm](http://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/genetics_center/louisiana/article_cajunhistory.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/35 "2015-09-28T15:28:17Z")
[quote=“terentii, post:26, topic:732631”] Here’s Justin Wilson, the Cookin’ Cajun. He starts making roux at around 2:40: [/QUOTE] I just looked at a dozen or more Cajun roux recipes online and none of them call for olive oil. Traditionally, roux was made from animal fat or something like Crisco, but healthier times call for canola or other bland oils. Olive oil may be healthier, but it would have to be one of the lighter varieties or I think it would impart an unwanted flavor to the dish. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/36 "2015-09-28T15:48:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > At a guess, because butter is more, you know, French. Probably because butter is more expensive than oil or some kind of leftover animal grease would be my guess. Everything I’ve ever read or seen leads me to believe that Cajuns typically didn’t have much money, so their cuisine reflects it - not a lot of butter or cream, and a lot of game and vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/37 "2015-09-28T15:51:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The last couple of weeks though, I’ve made the sausage roux and saved it with the leftover sausages. Instant gravy mix! 🙂 When my grandmother had trouble sleeping, she sometimes got up, made a roux, and refrigerated/froze it. So many recipes start with a roux that if you cook Cajun or Creole regularly, you’ll need it soon, even if you don’t right now. And you can always make brown gravy to go over the biscuits instead of that white stuff the rest of the country insists on putting on them. Personally, I am rather known for my gumbo, which I make with a very dark roux. Fried chicken is invariably accompanied by rice and brown gravy, with any leftover chicken going into the gravy to make smothered chicken. (It reheats better that way.) Fried cube steak is handled similarly, as are occasional venison cutlets. My beef stews are invariably thickened with roux, and I’ve been considering trying my hand at steak pies (no kidneys for me, though). On the oil discussion: I have made roux with many different kinds of oil–various vegetable oils, olive oil, butter, drippings from bacon or beef. **Chefguy** is correct that a lighter olive oil is better, but a well-seasoned dark roux can incorporate the flavor well enough. Olive oil is what I generally use now, mostly because I usually have it on hand. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/38 "2015-09-28T17:06:24Z")
[quote=“terentii, post:26, topic:732631”] Here’s Justin Wilson, the Cookin’ Cajun. He starts making roux at around 2:40: [/QUOTE] Justin was primarily a standup comic. I have two of his albums. And just about every Cajun is a cooking Cajun. When we lived in South Louisiana before Cajun food became faddish I don’t remember my wife used olive oil in making a roux - pretty much just butter. BTW at that time, 35 years ago, there was a Cajun cookbook called “First you Make a Roux” which is what I thought this thread was about. Geaux Cajuns! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/39 "2015-09-28T17:12:05Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > When my grandmother had trouble sleeping, she sometimes got up, made a roux, and refrigerated/froze it. So many recipes start with a roux that if you cook Cajun or Creole regularly, you’ll need it soon, even if you don’t right now. Sort of like ghee for Indian cooking. I always make a few cups of it, as you need it for much of that cuisine. It stores on the kitchen counter for quite a long time, as long as you get nearly all of the solids out. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631/40 "2015-09-28T18:23:13Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > … And this makes them more French than the Cajuns? 😕 No, it makes the Cajuns less French than the Creoles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-you-make-a-roux/732631.md?page=3)