Qué hacer cuando la salsa queda con grumos

A fine-mesh strainer is the simplest solution. When you strain the sauce, the liquid passes into the serving dish or container below, while the lumps remain in the strainer. You might need to press it with a spoon or fork, or strain it more than once, but it's still easier than starting from scratch. If you don't have a strainer, a blender will also remove the lumps.

Use caution when blending. If the lid has a pouring spout, open it and cover it with a clean cloth. Start blending at the lowest speed and gradually increase it, stopping to check the consistency. If the pressure of a hot liquid isn't released, the sauce can splatter and cause injury, as Serious Eats warns. With these precautions, the method shouldn't present any problems.

Lumps are semi-solid pieces of flour that have stuck together during cooking, not solids in the true sense. They usually appear because too much flour has been added to the roux: the excess cooks instead of blending with the butter and stock, forming lumps that don't dissolve in the fat.

To avoid lumps, you can continue whisking while the sauce heats up, so the residual heat dissolves them. You can also lightly sift the flour into the roux, so any undissolved lumps fall into the saucepan. Another option is to add the flour in small amounts while whisking, rather than all at once.