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Thickening

Sauces and soups may be thickened in various ways, and the different processes are spoken of in the professional nomenclature as liaisons; thus we have liaisons of roux and liaisons of eggs. Soups are thickened also with vegetables, and with farinaceous substances, such as sago and tapioca, and when these are used, they are generally boiled with the liquor, according to the directions given in each recipe. In ordinary domestic cookery, however, the word "thickening" is generally understood as specially denoting the brown or white thickening for sauces, made of flour and butter, and called by the French roux; and as these preparations, though easy to make, require both time and care, detailed directions are given in their proper place for making them. Common cooks are accustomed to dispense with this properly-prepared roux, and to thicken their sauces with a hastily-made paste of flour, and to colour them with burnt sugar; the consequence is their sauces often taste either musty, gruelly, or burnt. Those who have not hitherto done so, would find it to their advantage to avail themselves of the first leisure hour they have at their disposal, to make a quantity of the true brown thickening, and then to put it aside to be used when required: it is as easy to make a large quantity as a small. The roux will keep for three or four months, and the sauces thickened with it are rich and brown in appearance.