Which term describes the group of thickeners including roux, liaison, beurre manié, and slurry?

Which term describes the group of thickeners including roux, liaison, beurre manié, and slurry?

• A. Concentrates
• B. Thickeners
• C. Binders
• D. Emulsions

Answer: (B)

Thickening methods used in sauces. Roux, liaison, beurre manié, and slurry are all techniques that create body and viscosity in liquids. Roux combines fat and flour and is cooked to remove raw flour taste; when stirred into a hot liquid, the starch granules swell and thicken the sauce. Beurre manié is flour kneaded into softened butter and whisked in at the end, providing a quick, smooth thickening. A slurry mixes starch (like cornstarch) with cold liquid before adding to the hot sauce, where the starch gelatinizes and thickens. Liaison uses egg yolks and cream to gently thicken while enriching the texture, requiring careful heating to avoid curdling. These are all categorized as thickeners because their primary purpose is to increase viscosity, not to bind ingredients, concentrate flavors, or create stable fat-water mixtures for texture alone.

Thickening methods used in sauces. Roux, liaison, beurre manié, and slurry are all techniques that create body and viscosity in liquids. Roux combines fat and flour and is cooked to remove raw flour taste; when stirred into a hot liquid, the starch granules swell and thicken the sauce. Beurre manié is flour kneaded into softened butter and whisked in at the end, providing a quick, smooth thickening. A slurry mixes starch (like cornstarch) with cold liquid before adding to the hot sauce, where the starch gelatinizes and thickens. Liaison uses egg yolks and cream to gently thicken while enriching the texture, requiring careful heating to avoid curdling.

These are all categorized as thickeners because their primary purpose is to increase viscosity, not to bind ingredients, concentrate flavors, or create stable fat-water mixtures for texture alone.