Home › The Principles of Cookery › Liaisons

Liaisons

The various methods for thickening sauces and soups are called liaisons. Those most frequently used are composed of flour, ground rice, arrowroot, roux, eggs, and milk. Flour, ground rice, and arrowroot should be mixed very smoothly, first with a little cold liquid, and afterwards with some of the hot liquid. The mixture should then be strained, and poured with one hand into the sauce or soup, which should be at the same time well stireed with the other hand. The soup must be boiled after this preparation is added. Liaison of egg is composed of the yolks of eggs only. The liquid should always be cooled for a minute before this liaison is added. The yolks must be well beaten, then mixed with a little of the liquid, and gradually added to the rest, and all stirred together over the fire until quite hot. If allowed to boil, however, after the egg is added, the liquid will curdle. Two or three spoonfuls of milk or cream are sometimes added to the egg. For liaison of roux, see ROUX, BROWN AND WHITE. A liaison of butter is used to enrich rather than to thicken sauces. It should be stirred in cold at the last moment, and on no account allowed to boil.