copyright 1997 Patrick Collins
A sauce is a liquid in which has been thickened and
flavored to accompany meats, fish, starches,
vegetables~etc. The objective to making a good
accompanying sauce is not to detract from the
original flavor of the item in witch it is served.
Generally, a sauce has four main purposes.
#1 is to complement the flavor of the item with which
it is served.
#2 is to moisten the food in which it is served, to
ease in digestion.
#3 is to insulate the food that it is served with.
#4 is to decorate the accompanying food.
Sauces are (for the most part) seperated into
categories.
HOT
COLD
BROWN~created on a foundation of brown stock
WHITE~created on a foundation of milk or white
stock
SAUCE THICKENING AGENTS
ROUX
- one of the oldest thickening agents still used
extensively to this date. Properly used, the unique
qualities of roux will thicken, color and flavor the
sauce thickened. Roux is made up of two main
ingredients~ Fat and flour. In order to make a
proper roux, You must use equal parts of fat and
sifted flour; cooked accordingly. The cooking process
colors and adds a "nutty" flavor to the roux.
To complement the flavor of the food in which the
sauce is served with, the fat used should be of the
food the actual sauce is complementing;ie beef fat
for beef flavored sauces, etc.
STARCH/CORNSTARCH/ARROWROOT
- A popular thickening agent. Properly used, it
gives a luster/sheen translucent appearance to the
sauce it is thickening.
the ratio (general rule of thumb) is about equal
parts of the starch to very cold liquid.(2ozs will
usually thicken a quart). Add the mixture to rapidly
boiling liquid and cook for 10 minutes.
KNEADED BUTTER(beurre manie)
- Kneaded butter is a mixture of butter and flour in
equal proportions. Uncooked. Unlike roux, the
kneaded butter must be cooked out in the sauce after
being added.
EGG YOLKS
- Eggs yolks need proper attention when hot sauces
are being thickened. Egg yolks need to be tempered
with a small amount of the sauce being thickened.
This requires constant stirring. The benefits of
using egg yolks as thickeners is the lustering sheen
and rich flavor they create. The sauce needs to be
below 190 degrees during the tempering process to
avoid "scrambled eggs" in your sauce.
CREAM(heavy)
- Heavy cream is a time taking but rewarding way to
thicken a sauce. The outcome is a rich, creamy
texture & unbeatable flavor by oter thickeners.
Sauce consistancy is achieved by reducing the heavy
cream.
PROPERTIES OF A SAUCE
C~O~T~T
COLOR- Color of your sauce is first achieved by
using the correct stock. While making stock,
browning the bones and using tomato product will
influence the color. Therefore, dark meats will
result in dark sauces~light meats/light sauces.
OPACITY- There are degrees of transparency for
sauces. If a sauce is just concentrated, but not
thickened, it will be transparent. If it is
thickened with a starch product, it will be
semi-transparent or translucent. If the sauce is
thickened with roux, eggyolks or cream, the sauce
will bo opaque.
TEXTURE- The texture of a sauce is created by
using the thickening agent- properly. straining,
properly cooking out thickening agents,skimming and
holding all hold key factors in texture.
TASTE- Taste is the flavor & richness achieved
through proper concentration of the stock and the
blending of herbs and spices.
BASIC SAUCES/THE 5 MOTHER SAUCES
These are the "mother" sauces. With a foundation of
one of these sauces, you should be able to create any
sauce you may need.
1.SAUCE ESPAGNOLE~ A basic brown stock with
tomato product, thickening agent(roux) mire poix
flavorings and bouquet garni(see glossary) for the
foundation seasonongs.
2.TOMATO SAUCE~ Prepared on a tomato product base
with flavorings and seasonings, plus liquid added.
3.BECHAMEL SAUCE~ Bechamel sauce is prepared on a
white roux and milk base with flavorings and
seasonings(onion cloute)-see glossary.
4.VELOUTE~ Basic translucent velvety
sauce(literaly meaning velvet) based on roux and
liquid. This includes;Veal veloute, chicken veloute,
fish veloute and vegetable veloute.
5.HOLLANDAISE~ Hollandaise is prepared by using
egg yolks, clarified butter and seasonings.
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