Roux...how dark is yours?

From the gumbo topic, thought I'd start one strictly for colors of, and opinions about the colors of roux.

I know a lot of people subscribe to "darker is better" but I disagree. I have made countless pots of gumbo, and tried everything from tan to almost black.

There comes a point where the roux gets dark brown, and I start to catch the odor of "burning." And I'm talking low heat with constant stirring, so it's not like it went from good to burned in half a second.

One time when I did this, I had no time to restart a roux, so I kept on with the gumbo. It took all kinds of salt and seasoning to cover up the "burned" smell and made it the worst gumbo I've ever made.

Think about it, roux is simply oil (or whatever source of fat you use) and flour. Flour has very little taste, when cooked, as does oil. The roux's job is not to add flavor, but to act as a thickening agent, so you don't end up with soup. The flavor comes from your vegetables, seasonings, and proteins.

In my opinion, when your roux gets very dark, almost black, you're adding a "burnt" taste as that's about the only real taste that can come from flour and oil. (At least compared to the other ingredients involved with gumbo.) Maybe you like that. If so, more power to you. I don't.

You want to jazz up that roux, use bacon grease. Now your adding flavor.