Sauces

 Sauces- Thickened
liquids that
complement other
foods.
 Thousands of sauces.
 Considered by many to
be the most challenging
skill to master in the
kitchen.
The Role of Sauces

 Can be traced back over
2000 years.
 Originally very
intensely flavored, and
often heavily thickened.
 As sauced evolved they
began to compliment
food as opposed to
overpowering.
What Sauces do for
Food

 Improve appearance of food
by adding color and shine.
 Contribute flavors that
complement or accent the
flavors of a particular dish.
 Add moisture to keep dish
from tasting dry and
unappetizing.
 Adds richness, especially if
sauce is high in fat.
 Add visual appeal to a
simple cent of the plate item
and command a higher
value on the menu.
Thickening Sauces

 Nappe- sauce is thick
enough to coat the back
of a spoon.
 Several different ways
to thicken sauces using
starches: Roux, slurry
or beurre manie.
Starches

 Starch is a category of
carbohydrates used to
thicken sauces in
including flour,
cornstarch and arrowroot.
 When starches are
combined with cold water
a process called
gelatinization occurs, and
the sauce becomes thick.
 When using starches, one
must bring liquid to full
boil.
Roux

 Roux is an equal part
flour and fat by weight
that is cooked to a
variety of doneness and
used to thicken liquids.
3 Types of Roux

 White roux cooks for 3 to
5 minutes- color should
not darken.
 Blond roux cooks for 10
minutes- have a straw
color.
 Brown roux cooks 20-30
minutes- brown color
 When adding roux, cool
roux is added to hot
liquid to reduce lumps.
Slurry

 Mixture of cold liquid
and starch.
 Must be mixed well to
avoid lumps.
 Slowly pour into
boiling water, whisk
and judge thickness.
Cornstarch

 Made from corn,
produces a glossy finish
and is inexpensive.
 Sauces thickened with
cornstarch gradually
become thinner the
longer they are held
hot.
Arrowroot

 Derived from a tropical
root.
 Inexpensive, and
produces a glossy finish
like cornstarch, but will
not loose its thickening
ability if held hot.
 Best choice if a
thickened product is to
be frozen for later use.
Flour

 Flour is not a pure
starch like arrowroot
and cornstarch, so
product will not be
glossy.
 Whitewash- slurry
made from water and
flour, often used when
making American style
gravy.
Beurre Manie

 Mixture of softened
whole butter and flour.
 Used to thicken sauces
and stews at last
minute.
 Has a slight flour taste
because it is uncooked.
Reduction

 Helps to concentrate
flavor as well as thicken.
 Gelatin will help to
thicken sauce or stew.
 Expensive because they
take a long time to make.
 Chefs refer to reduction
based sauces by fractions
or percentages.
Puree

 Another way to thicken
is to add finely ground
solids to them.
 Fruits, vegetables,
seeds, nuts.
 Coulis- made from
pureed fruits or
vegetables with a
flavored liquid.
Egg Yolk

 Thickening with egg
yolks requires practice.
 If egg yolks are added
directly to hot liquid they
will curdle.
 Tempering- mix yolk with
small amount of cream.
 The cream mixture that is
used to thicken the liquid
is then called a liaison.
 Never heat egg yolk
mixtures over 179
degrees.
Bread

 One of the oldest and
most rustic ingredients
used to thicken sauces.
 Toasted or untoasted
bread crumbs can be
added to liquid.
 Not used too much
today because results in
pasty substance.
Mother Sauces

 French organized a
system of classification
for 5 main “Mother”
sauces.
 Béchamel or white
sauce.
 Veloute
 Brown- Espagnole
 Tomato
 Hollandaise
Béchamel / White

 Milk thickened with
white roux flavored
with onion, bay leaf
and small amount of
nutmeg.
Veloute

 Veloute- translates to
velvety.
 Made by thickening
white stock with blond
roux.
 Final product should be
well flavored and free
from defects.
Brown Sauce

 Brown sauce is a
thickened brown stock.
 Demi-glace- Reducing
espagnole sauce for hours
until very concentrated
and full flavored
 Espagnole- slowly
reducing brown stock and
adding small amount of
tomato product and
brown roux for hours.
Tomato Sauce

 Puree thickened sauce.
 Tomatoes cooked with
flavoring such as
vegetables, herbs and
even with pieces of raw
or cured meats.
Hollandaise

 Hot emulsified sauce
that combines egg yolks
and warm clarified
butter.
 Easily broken
 Slowly add clarified
butter to warmed egg
yolks while whisking,
finish with lemon juice.
Safety Concerns with
Hollandaise

 Has been source of
salmonella outbreaks
since eggs are not fully
cooked.
 Please used pasteurized
eggs.
Nontraditional Sauces

 Butter Sauces
 Berurre Blanc- delicate
emulsified sauce that
is almost all butter.
 Requires attention and
practice.
 Beurre Noisettebrown butter finished
with lemon juice- used
for mainly fish.
Salsa

 Salsa are less acidic
than relishes. While
salsas vary
considerably they
originate in Latin
American Cuisine and
tend to be spicy due to
chilies.
Relishes

 Relishes are typically a
combination of coarsely
chipped vegetables and
fruits marinated with a
large amount of
vinegar. Many relishes
are also noticeably
sweet.
Chutney

 Originate in India,
similar to relishes but
use different spices.
Chutneys range form
spicy hot or mild.
Some chutneys are
cooked while others are
a simple mix of raw
ingredients.