maxine in ri wrote:
> Does anyone know what adding boiling oil and water does to flour that
> is different from adding the ingredient cold and bringing them up to
> temperature?


Wouldn't it make the flour lump up? My understanding of the reason one
added flour to cold oil or cold water was to make sure the flour
granules got distributed evenly. Then when they were heated, the starch
in the flour thickened the mixture. If added to hot, the outside of the
flour starch thickened right away such that no amount of whisking could
break up the lump to get the inside part in contact with the oil or
water for proper thickening.


--Lia