Next time you have to thicken a sauce, use beurre manié instead of cornstarch or arrowroot. It adds delicious butter flavor without the “gloppiness” you can get with other thickeners.

Just blend equal parts of softened butter and flour in a small bowl with a fork, and add to the dish. If you frequently have need for a thickener, you can make a batch of beurre manié rolled into balls the size of a quarter, and keep them in the freezer.

Roux, pronounced rue, uses the same ingredients and proportions, whisked in pan over heat. The benefit is that the butter doesn’t have to be at room temperature so you don’t need to plan ahead. Roux is the French word for tan, which is the color the butter and flour mix becomes when cooked.

• Check out the different types of butter preparations in our Butter Glossary.

Thicken sauces, soups and stews with roux
or beurre manié.