Sauces are liquids or semi-liquid mixtures. A keen
sense of smell, delicate sense of taste, a light, strong hand for the
blending-all contributes to the perfect sauce. Long ago, Grimande de la royere,
philosopher and gastronomer wrote: “the sauce is to culinary art, what grammar
is to language.” A perfect sauce has a colourful appearance, is glowing in its
rich smoothness, its texture is that of velvet, and it has a definite taste. It
has a natural flavour and complements the food it accompanies, rather than mask
its taste. It provides moisture, colour and shine to food.
IMPORTANCE OF SAUCES IN FOOD
PRODUCTION
1.
It
provides moisture, colour and shine to food.
2.
Enhances
flavours, Sauce add flavour to the dish.
3.
Some
sauces help in digestion, e.g. Mint sauce, apple sauce etc.
4. Add colour to food.
5. Enhance nutritional value of the dish.
6. Sometimes gives the name to the dish.
7. Served as an accompaniments, sometimes gives a
contrast taste to another food.
8.
Dresses
and complement food that needs some additional quality and makes the food more
palatable.
THE STRUCTURE OF
SAUCES
The major sauces we consider here are made of three
kinds of ingredients.
1.
A
liquid, the body of the sauce
2.
A
thickening agent
3.
Additional
seasoning and flavouring ingredients
Liquid A liquid ingredient provides the body or base of most
sauces. Most classic sauces are built on one of five liquids or bases. The
resulting sauces are called leading sauces or mother sauces.
·
White
stock (chicken,veal,or fish)—for velouté sauces
·
Brown
stock—for brown sauce or espagnole
·
Milk—for
béchamel
·
Tomato
plus stock—for tomato sauce
·
Clarified
butter—for hollandaise
Thickening Agents A sauce must be thick enough to cling lightly to the
food. Otherwise, it will just run off and lie in a puddle in the plate.
Other Flavouring Ingredients although the liquid that makes up the bulk of the
sauce provides the basic flavour, other ingredients are added to make
variations on the basic themes and to give a finished character to the sauces.
THICKENING AGENTS
1.
Roux
is a cooked mixture of fat and flour, measured in equal parts by weight (not
volume).
The fats to use:
·
Clarified
Butter: The best fat. Makes the "cleanest" sauce.
·
Margarine: Most
commonly used in food service, not as good as clarified butter but less expensive
with a "butter" taste.
·
Animal Fat: Use
what is appropriate for the dish. Duck fat, however, is mild and can be used
with other meats.
·
Shortening/Vegetable
Oil: Leaves a "fuzzy" taste. The melting point is higher so these
fats leave tiny particles of "un-liquefied" fat in the sauce and are
detectable on the tongue.
There are three basic types
of roux, each contain the same basic ingredients but differ in coloration which
is a result of the cooking process. The
darker the roux the longer it has been cooked
·
White
Roux
·
Blond
Roux
·
Brown
Roux
PROCEDURE:
·
Heat/melt
the fat over a low heat.
·
Add
the flour ALL AT ONCE.
·
Stir
constantly until desired colour is reached.
2.
BEURRE
MANIE.
·
This
is an equal mixture of Flour & Butter.
·
Kneaded
together and then whisked into the liquid in small quantities, thickening as it
cooks out.
·
This
is also known as a cold roux or pounded butter.
3.
STARCHES.
·
Corn
flour, Arrowroot, Potato Flour, Rice Flour & Barley Flour.
·
These
are used as a thickening agent.
·
Arrowroot
& cornflower are the most commonly used.
·
The
starch must be mixed with cold water before adding to the hot liquid
4.
Egg yolks and Cream (LIAISON): They are used differently in different
recipes. In classical cooking, a liaison is a mixture of egg yolks and cream,
used to enrich and lightly thicken a sauce or other liquid. Egg yolks have the
power to thicken a sauce slightly due to the coagulation of egg proteins when
heated. Caution must be used when thickening with egg yolks because of the
danger of curdling.
Procedure for Using a
Liaison
·
Beat
together the egg yolks and cream in a stainless-steel bowl. Normal proportions
are 2 to 3 parts cream to 1 part egg yolks.
·
Very
slowly add a little of the hot liquid to the liaison, beating constantly. This
is known as tempering.
·
Off
the heat, add the warmed, diluted liaison to the rest of the sauce, stirring
well as you pour it in.
·
Return
the sauce to low heat to warm it gently, but do not heat it higher than 180°F
(82°C) or it will curdle. In no circumstances should it boil.
·
Hold
for service above 140°F (69°C) for sanitation reasons, but lower than 180°F
(82°C).
5.
Breadcrumbs
6.
Blood:
jugged hare
7.
Agar
agar: seaweed
8.
Gelatine
9.
Curd
etc.
CLASSIFICATION OF SAUCES
1. MOTHER
SAUCES these are the main basic sauces from which all the other sauces are
derived.
• Béchamel (classic white sauce): Sauce consists of
milk and thickened with white roux. Béchamel sauce is named after “Marquis
Louis de Béchamel”
• Espagnole (brown sauce): Espagnole meaning “Spanish”
in French was the original brown sauce and still is one the glories of the
French kitchen.
• Velouté( white stock sauce): It literally means
velvet. It is a very light blond coloured sauce, made from chicken, fish, or
veal stock, thickened with a blond roux.
• Tomato (classic tomato sauce): The traditional
French tomato sauce is thickened with a roux.
• Hollandaise (butter sauce): A warm emulsified sauce
is based on egg yolk and clarified butter. Hollandaise is French word meaning
“Dutch Style”. This sauce is a versatile sauce and is served as a topping on a
dish and gratinated to give colour.
• Mayonnaise (cold sauce): It is a cold emulsified
sauce based on egg yolk. If it is not handled carefully it will separate giving
a curdled appearance.
2. PROPRIETARY
SAUCE these sauces are industry made.
• Soya sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• H.P. Sauce
• Barbeque Sauce
• Ketchup
3. CONTEMPORARY
SAUCE these sauces are simple, less rich and easy to prepare. These are more
likely to be specifically tailored to be given food or techniques.
• Beurre Blanc
• Pesto Sauce
• Compound Butter
REASONS FOR CURDLED
HOLLANDAISE AND MAYONNAISE SAUCE
Hollandaise Sauce
·
Store
for long time.
·
Cook
on high temperature.
·
Un
proper mixing.
·
Egg
yolk to chill.
Mayonnaise Sauce
·
Chilled
Ingredients.
·
Un
proper mixing.
·
Expose
sauce to low/ high temperature.
·
Egg
yolk is too old.
·
Oil
added rapidly.
HOW TO RECTIFY CURDLED
HOLLANDAISE AND MAYONNAISE SAUCE
Hollandaise Sauce
·
Add
a spoon full of hot water into the emulsion and whisk again.
·
Whisk
one egg yolk with a little warm water on a double boiler and add the curdled
sauce in a thin stream to form an emulsion.
Mayonnaise Sauce
·
Add
vinegar and whisk.
·
Add
1 tsp hot water and whisk.
·
Start
with fresh egg yolk and add the curdled sauce in a thin stream to form an
emulsion.
Difference between sauce and
gravy
Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin Salus,
meaning salt. No surprise given that salt is used to enhance the flavour of
food. There are hundreds of sauces that fall under five main categories. They are
béchamel (milk based) example Alfredo sauce, espagnole (brown stock based)
example Mushroom sauce, veloute (white stock based) example Lyonnaise sauce,
tomato (tomato based) example Marinara sauce and emulsified (hollandaise and
mayonnaise) example Béarnaise sauce, tartar sauce. As you can see each of these
sauce categories begin with a fundamental base. An all inclusive quality cook
book will provide you with the ingredients and methods for which to prepare
these sauces.
Gravy on the other hand takes its characteristic
flavour from the fat and juices (drippings) of a roasted piece of meat. Once
the roast is done and removed from the pan, skim off the majority of the fat.
Place the roasting pan on the stove on medium heat. Sprinkle or dust with
all-purpose flour and mix well to create what is known as roux. Add hot
vegetable water or broth and simmer until gravy is smooth in texture and there
is no longer an uncooked flour taste. Season with salt and pepper and you have
the perfect gravy
Derivatives of Basic Sauces
BROWN OR ESPAGNOLE SAUCE
Demi-Glaze 50%
of brown stock + 50% (Fr. Demi-glace) of brown sauce
Reduced to half.
Bercy Demi-glaze
+ meat glaze + minced shallots + white wine + sliced bone marrow.
Madeira Demi-glaze + Madeira wine.
Chasseur Minced
mushrooms, sautéed chopped shallots +, white wine reduced + demi-glaze + butter
+ chopped parsley.
Devil (Diable) Chopped
shallots + white wine + vinegar + Peppercorns, salt, reduced + demi-glaze
strained + chopped parsley (prominent flavour of pepper).
BECHAMEL SAUCE
Scotch egg Thin
Béchamel sauce, mixed with hard-boiled yolk, sieved, garnished with white of
eggs cut into strips.
Mornay Béchamel
+ Parmesan and Gruyere + cream + egg yolks.
Cream Béchamel
+ fresh cream + butter.
Soubise Béchamel
+ sautéed, minced onions + pepper + nutmeg and strained.
Parsley Béchamel
+ fresh cream+ butter + chopped and blanched parsley.
Mustard Béchamel
+ fresh cream + butter + mustard (also prepared with Hollandaise).
Anchovy Béchamel
+ anchovy essence+ anchovy fillets + cream + butter + lemon juice (also
prepared with fish veloute).
Onion sauce Béchamel + minced
onions cooked in milk + seasoning + nutmeg.
CHICKEN VELOUTE
Allemande Chicken
veloute + egg yolks+ mushroom trimmings + cream + juice of lemon.
Supreme Chicken
veloute + white wine + parsley + shallots + mushroom trimmings and strain. Add
fresh cream + yolk of eggs + juice of lemon.
Mushroom Sauce Supreme
+ sliced button mushrooms.
Hongroise Chicken
veloute + paprika + white wine + cream.
Ivory Sauce Supreme
+ meat glaze.
Aurore Chicken
veloute + tomato sauce + butter.
Curry sauce Dices of
onions + apples sautéed in butter + curry powder + coconut milk + add veloute +
strain.
FISH/MEAT VELOUTE
Shrimp Fish
veloute + fish fumet + cream+ shelled shrimp tails + shrimp butter.
Normande Fish
veloute + mushrooms + oyster liquor + fish fumet + finish with egg yolks, cream
+ shelled shrimp tails + shrimp butter.
Bercy Allemande
sauce + chopped shallots + white wine + meat glaze + butter, garnished with
dices of marrow and chopped parsley.
TOMATO SAUCE
Bretonne Tomato
sauce + sauteed chopped onions + white wine reduced, strained + butter +
chopped parsley.
Provencale Thin
tomato sauce + sautéed sliced mushrooms + chopped parsley + garlic + tomato
concasse + sugar.
Portugaise Tomato
sauce + white wine + tomato concasse + garlic.
Italienne Tomato
sauce + demi-glaze + chopped shallots + mushrooms +lean ham + fine herbs.
Barbecue Tomato
sauce + ketchup + vinegar+ sugar.
HOLLANDAISE
Mousseline Hollandaise
sauce mixed with stiffly whipped cream.
Maltaise Hollandaise
sauce + zest + juice of blood oranges.
Noisette Hollandaise
+ nut brown cooked butter.
Bearnaise Hollandaise sauce + chopped tarragon + chervil.
Choron Bearnaise
sauce + tomato puree.
Foyot Bearnaise
sauce + meat glaze.
Mustard Hollandaise
sauce + mustard
MAYONNAISE
Chantilly Mayonnaise
+ lemon juice instead of vinegar, mixed with whipped cream.
Gribiche Mayonnaise
+ chopped hard boiled eggs + mustard, garnished with chopped gherkins, capers,
chervil, tarragon.
Cambridge Pounded
hard-boiled eggs +anchovy fillets + capers +chervil+ tarragon + chives +vinegar
+ Cayenne pepper, addoil gradually as for mayonnaise, strain + chopped parsley.
Gloucester Mayonnaise
+ sour cream + lemon juice + chopped fennel + Worcestershire sauce.
Remoulade Mayonnaise
+ mustard garnished with capers, parsley, gherkins, chervil, tarragon and
finished with anchovy essence.
Andalouse Mayonnaise
+ tomato puree garnished with sweet capsicums.
Tartare Mayonnaise
+ hard yolk of eggs, garnished with finely chopped onion and chives.
Green sauce Mayonnaise
sauce mixed with puree of blanched herbs, spinach, water parsley, chervil,
tarragon. Pass through very fine sieve.
Vincent Half
tartare sauce + half green sauce mixed together.
Thousand Island Dressing Mayonnaise
+ hard-boiled eggs + tomato ketchup + chopped gherkins + onions + pimentos,
olives + paprika powder.
Cocktail Mayonnaise
+ tomato ketchup +Worcester sauce + tabasco +cream+ lemon juice.
Important Questions
1.
Define
Sauces. Classify Sauces with an example of each.
2.
Give
Recipe of 2 liter white sauce
3.
Name
the basic / leading / mother sauces giving two derivatives of each with ingredients.
4.
What
is the Importance of the sauces in food production.
5.
What
are the method of correcting curdled mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce.
6.
Give
reason for the curdling of hollandaise and mayonnaise sauce.
7.
Write
the basic components of Hollandaise
sauce.
8.
What
are the ingredients used in thousand island sauce.
9.
What
are the ingredients used in tartare sauce.
10.
Difference
between sauce and gravy.
11.
Explain
contemporary and proprietary sauces.
12.
Explain
thickening agents.
Assignment No:
1.
Give
recipe for the following:
·
Béchamel
Sauce
·
Veloute
sauce
·
Espagnole
Sauce
·
Tomato
Sauce
·
Hollandaise
Sauce
·
Mayonnaise
sauce
2.
Define
Sauces. Classify Sauces with an example of each.
3.
Explain
thickening agents.
4.
What
is the Importance of the sauces in food production?
5.
What
are the method of correcting curdled mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce?
6.
Give
reason for the curdling of hollandaise and mayonnaise sauce.