Roux French cuisine, but may be lard or vegetable oil in other cuisines. The roux is used in three of the five mother sauces of classical French cooking: béchamel sauce, velouté sauce, and espagnole sauce. In Cajun cuisine, roux is made with bacon fat or oil instead of butter and cooked to a medium or dark brown color, which lends much richness of flavor, albeit less thickening power. Central European cuisine often uses lard (in its rendered form) or more recently vegetable oil instead of butter for the preparation of roux, which is called in Slovak, in Czech, in Polish, ()
French cuisine in spiced stews. French cuisine varies according to the season. In summer, salads and fruit dishes are popular because they are refreshing and produce is inexpensive and abundant. Greengrocers prefer to sell their fruit and vegetables at lower prices if needed, rather than see them rot in the heat. At the end of summer, mushrooms become plentiful and appear in stews throughout France. The hunting season begins in September and runs through February. Game of all kinds is eaten, often in elaborate dishes that celebrate the success of the hunt. Shellfish are at their peak when winter turns to spring,