water molecules can move only a small
distance before they collide with one of these
foreign, less mobile substances. They’re then
able to make only slow progress, so they flow
more reluctantly.
Food Words: Liaison
To name both the act of thickening and the
agents of thickening, early French cooks
used the word liaison, which meant a close
connection or bond, whether physical,
political, or amorous. When the English
got around to borrowing the word in the
17th century, it was the culinary
application that came first; military and
romantic liaisons didn’t arrive until the
19th century.
Thickening agents in saucemaking are just
such obstructing agents. Cooks have
traditionally thought of them as binding
agents, and this view makes its own kind of
sense. The dispersed materials essentially