Roux is a mixture of flour and fat used as a thickening agent in things like sauces and gravy. In class, we made a roux out of flour and clarified butter. The purpose of this exercise was to see the different stages of roux as it is cooked. When we first started, the roux was a very light color:
We noticed that it was very thin and, in a way, soft at this point. As we continued to cook the roux, it got thicker and thicker and took on a darker color. All these different stages of roux are used for different things, to establish different levels of thickness. Here are so more pictures I took throughout this process:
As you can see, the roux got darker and had a different texture the longer it cooked. In the last picture (the one on the right) it almost looks chunky. Also throughout this process we took a spoonful of the roux every three minutes and put it on a plate, creating what I'm going to call 'The Roux Color Wheel'. It really is a color wheel because it showcases all the different stages of roux and the different colors it takes:
Sorry, the plate is kinda messy. You can blame Nick for that (Sorry Nick). But the point is, if you look at this picture it is easy to see the progression of color that the roux followed as it cooked. This also shows the change in consistency, especially by the last spoonful (middle left of the picture). It looks kind of gross to be honest. But, as I have said, roux is not meant to look pretty it is meant as a thickening agent. And that's exactly what it does.