Roux-thickened Sauces (white and brown)

Consistency and body.

Smooth, with no lumps, no graininess.

Not too thick or pasty, but thick enough to coat the food lightly.

Flavor.

Distinctive but well-balanced flavor. No scorched taste. White sauces should have a full but fairly neutral flavor. Brown sauce should have a rich, meaty flavor from roasted bones, but with no burned taste of excessively browned bones.

Proper degree of seasoning.

No starchy taste.

Appearance.

Smooth, with a good shine.

Good color for its type (rich, deep brown, for brown sauce, pale ivory for velouté, white—not gray—for cream sauce). Uniform color, no dark specks in brown sauce. Brown sauce should not have too reddish a color from using too much tomato product.

A brown sauce thickened by a starch slurry (jus lié) is clearer than one thickened by roux.