Agree with Red on this one and anyone that says different is just lying to themselves. I agree with what @CajunlostinCali about the care and effort and that argument will ALWAYS hold up, but when it comes down to it we are talking about flour and oil. It is just too damn easy to buy and such a PITA to make. Been buying it for years and aint stopping anytime soon.
Laziness, absolutely. If making roux is some kind of religious or tribal ritual that is important to you, knock yourself out. I just want something good to eat. It's just grease and flour, man. I don't grow my own rice, make my own sausage, grind my own file, or kill my own chickens either. I don't make stock, I use bouillon cubes. Worse, I don't even chop my own celery, onion, and pepper. I can buy trinity chopped in a plastic container at Calandro's. And I bet you can't tell the difference.
Well, I ain't grandma and I don't have all day. I love a good po-boy but I'm not going to first grow a field of wheat when I can get damn good bread at the bakery. I'll eat your gumbo though and I bet is good.
It's not necessarily just flour and grease. I don't use cooking oil. I use bacon fat. I doubt that you can buy a bacon fat roux in a jar. If I make a chicken an sausage gumbo I will use the chicken broth in a can but for seafood gumbo I don't know any place where you can buy shrimp stock so I have to make it myself. That means buying heads on unpeeled shrimp. I have bought trinity in a plastic container and while it's OK I prefer a courser blend with a bit larger pieces of the chopped veggies. Right there would be a dead giveaway if it was made with jar roux. No bacon flavor. My brother started making his own sourdough bread a couple of years ago. More as a hobby and for something to do than anything else. I have never really cared all that much about sourdough bread but the bread he makes is really good for some things, especially for a turkey sandwich. Also makes good toast. He offered to give me a loaf last time I was at his house but I just took a half loaf. Any more would get stale before I ate it.
because making roux is the equivalent to doing all those things. and making sausage is easy. casings are expensive though
When my grandma, who spoke better French than English and was the best cook to walk on this planet started using roux from a jar 20 something years ago I knew it was ok to do.
My Grandmother use to take Veal Cutlets, cook them down in Hog Lard. Then take cooked Rice, mix it in to sop up the gravy. With the last name Songy, yep, real French.
