INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

On Tue, 13 Sep 1994 18:40:58 -0400 (EDT)  shurahaigh@delphi.com  wrote:
> Many of the soups I used to make pre-vlf require a roux for
thickening - the > sort that requires 2-4 T of butter to be combined
with flour. Does anyone > have an adequate substitute, or know if
there's one in the archives?  It's the starch in the flour that does
the thickening, not the butter.  Flour needs to be cooked to get rid of
the raw taste and the butterfat  makes this easy to do without burning
the flour.  However, it is  possible to brown flour without fat, it
just takes more care.  Furthermore, browned flour is relatively shelf
stable, so you can  make a big batch and use it over a month or two.
Other starches  (cornstarch, potato starch, arrowroot, etc) can be used
as thickening  agents as well. They vary in their strength, taste, and
temperature  sensativity. See McGee's On Food and Cooking for
comparison info.  For examples of using browned flour as a substitute
for a traditional  roux, see Enola Prudhomme's Low-Calorie Cajun
Cooking and Paul  Prudhome's Fork In the Road. (which also contain
instructions for  browning flour). Here's instructions for browning
flour from the  archives:  Date:    Thu, 21 Oct 93 13:23:44 PDT From:
Michelle Dick <artemis>  From The Joy of Cooking:  BROWNED FLOUR  A
variant used in gravies to enhance color and flavor [and as we now
know, to do fatfree cajun cooking].  The slow but inexpensive
procedure by which it is made is worth trying.  The flour, when ready,
should smell nutty and baked.  Place:  in a dry heavy skillet.  Stir
constantly over very low direct heat,  scraping the flour from the
sides and bottom of the pan.  Or, heat the  flour in a very slow oven,
200 deg F to 250 deg F, in a very heavy  pan. Shake the pan
periodically so the flour browns evenly.  Do not  let it get too dark
or, as with brown roux, it will become bitter and  lose its thickening
power altogether.  Even properly browned flour  has only about half the
thickening power of all-purpose flour.  It  may be stored in a tightly
covered jar in a cool place.  Michelle Dick, artemis@rahul.net. Fatfree
Digest [Volume 10 Issue 34],  Sept. 14, 1994. Formatted by Sue Smith,
S.Smith34, TXFT40A@Prodigy.com  using MMCONV.  File
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/fatfreex.zip

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