Adding vegetables to roux

Depends on what you're cooking. For sauce piquant I add my onions and tomato paste first and brown them really well before adding my celery and peppers. For everything else, it all goes in at once.

I like to add the onions first & let them brown before adding the bell pepper & celery.

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I seem to remember someone writing about adding onions and bell pepper separately

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Probably Gris Gris. She doesn't like her different foods touching.

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If you want a really dark roux, add the onions first

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For a really dark roux, my onions don't hit the roux for a good half hour or more. I've never introduced the onions before the rest, or until my roux is the color I want it to be. I'll try this next time.

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I like to add the onions first & let them brown before adding the bell pepper & celery.

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Me too!

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Probably Gris Gris. She doesn't like her different foods touching.

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I love that you pay attention to my posts!

Nah, they can touch in gumbo. Sometimes, I add onions ahead of time and sometimes, I add all the veggies together, but the browned onions do add another depth of flavor. No right or wrong answer here.

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If you want a really dark roux, add the onions first
For a really dark roux, my onions don't hit the roux for a good half hour or more. I've never introduced the onions before the rest, or until my roux is the color I want it to be. I'll try this next time.

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You'll be glad you did.

adding the onions first allows the sugars to caramelize. when you add them with bell peppers and celery the water in them prevents that

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If you want a really dark roux, add the onions first to temper the roux and to maximize the Maillard reaction that will further brown your roux.

The water content of the bell peppers and celery with inhibit the Maillard reaction if added at the same time as the onions.

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The onions do the same thing. Dark brown roux depends on how long you cook it before adding any vegetables. Granted you can get a dark roux after adding vegetables, but you are cooking a lot longer. The "secret" is patience. Cook your roux to your desired color, once you get there then add your vegetables. I add them all at once as i find the celery/bellpepper take longer to soften up. However, i find the "bitterness" as mentioned above to be interesting and may think about adding them later next gumbo. Now, if you are saying that adding onions first then the green veggie's due to quantity of veggies and water content, then you have a point. But i believe onions have a similar water content as celery/bellpeppers (if not more).

I cooked a gumbo saturday and made the darkest roux i've made. All of the color came pre-trinity.