SAUCES

              

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.