Roux 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. The fat is most often butter in
Shea butter Shea butter Shea butter (, , or ) is a fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree ("Vitellaria paradoxa"). It is usually ivory in color when raw, with more processed versions being white in color. It can be be yellow when a root is added to it. It is widely used in cosmetics as a moisturizer, salve or lotion. Shea butter is edible and is used in food preparation in some African countries. Occasionally, shea butter is mixed with other oils as a substitute for cocoa butter, although the taste is noticeably different. The English word "shea"