Roux
Roux () is flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. Roux is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. The flour is added to the melted fat or oil on the stove top, blended until smooth, and cooked to the desired level of brownness. Butter, vegetable oils, bacon drippings or lard are commonly used fats. Roux is used as a thickening agent for gravy, sauces, soups and stews. It provides the base for a dish, and other ingredients are added after the roux is complete.
Louis Félix Roux
Roux was son of Robert Roux, a schoolmaster, and Marie Petit. Roux learned Latin with the parish priest and then obtained a scholarship to study in a Parisian college. He later took holy orders and in 1786 became parish priest of Vignory. He supported the French Revolution and took the oath for the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, following which in 1791 he was named Episcopal Vicar of the Haute-Marne.