Sauces are thickened liquids that complement foods by adding color, shine, flavor and richness. They contribute visual appeal and moisture. All sauces are thickened using starches, purees, eggs or emulsions. Common thickening methods include a roux made of equal parts flour and fat cooked to different shades, slurries of starch in cold liquid, and pureed fruits/veggies. Mothersauces like bechamel, veloute, demi-glace and hollandaise are base sauces that derivative sauces are made from.

1. Chpt. 21

2.  Sauces are thickened liquids that
complement other foods
 Add color and shine to dishes
 Contribute flavors that complement or
accent the flavors of a particular dish
 Add richness, especially if sauce is high fat
 Add visual appeal
 Adds moisture

3.  Allsauces are thickened liquids, which
separates them from stocks
 Nappe’- the sauce is thick enough to coat the
back of a spoon
 Sauces can be thickened with
starches, purees, eggs or emulsions

4. A classic starch based thickener, equal parts
flour and fat
 Three different types- white, blond, and
brown
 White is cooked 3 to 5 minutes
 Blond is cooked 10 minutes
 Brown is cooked 20 to 30 minutes

5. A slurry is a mixture of cold liquid and starch
 Common slurry ingredients
 Cornstarch- starch from corn, inexpensive, glossy
sauce
 Arrowroot- from tropical root, expensive, best
choice is going to freeze sauce
 Flour- not glossy, not a pure starch, called a
whitewash- American style gravy

6.  Thickening liquid by adding pureed fruit or
vegetables is called a coulis
 Reduction is boiling the sauce, causing the
water to evaporate
 Intensifies sauce flavor

7.  Using eggs yolks takes practice and skill
 Don’t want eggs to curdle or scramble
 You must temper the egg yolks

8.  Mothersauces are the base sauces from
which other sauces can be quickly made
 Béchamel sauce-milk and white roux
 Veloute’ – white stock and blond roux
 Demi-glace or brown sauce- brown stock and
roux
 Tomato sauce
 Hollandaise sauce- eggs yolks and butter
 Derivative
sauce is sauce that is made from
a mother sauce
 Compound or small sauce

9.  1. Sweat vegetable flavorings in fat
 2. Add herbs and tomatoes
 3. simmer sauce
 Optional- Use a food processor to puree
tomatoes

10.  Salsas, relishes and chutneys
 Salsas- less acidic than relishes, spicy tendency
 Relishes- coarsely chopped veggies, marinated in
vinegar
 Chutney- originate in India, can be spicy or
mild, can be cooked or raw
 Butter sauces
 Beurre blanc- emulsified sauce made almost
entirely of butter