Sauces

Sauces are hot or cold products that serve to monitor, enhance, disguise or even identify a food.


In the old kitchen brigades had a chef specializing in the art of making sauces - the maitre d 'saucier - a function that tends to disappear with new cooking techniques and the current market reality.

Auguste Escoffier, AMAZING French chef, divided the sauces according to their temperature and consistency, classifying them as basic and derived. Currently we can separate them as follows:


According to its composition:

     Basic sauces, derivatives and semiderivados;
     Emulsified sauces;
     Special sauces;
     Contemporary sauces.


According to the temperature:

     Hot or cold


Or:

     Dark base;
     Base clear;
     Emulsified (hot and cold);
     Special liquids;
     contemporary;
     Compound butters;
     Sauces sweets (confectionery)

Basic Sauces
Are those that serve as base for other sauces, besides being used as an accompaniment or additional cooking.

They are considered the basic sauces:basic sauce demi-Gace, velouté, béchamel and tomato.
Some chains also include hollandaise and mayonnaise.
 
They divided the basic sauces into four groups and their subdivisions so will be easier for understand.

- Sauces dark base: Spagnole, demi-glace.
- Sauces clear basis: béchamel, velouté.
- Emulsified sauces: mayonnaise; hollandaise, vinaigrette.
- Tomato sauce
 
Dark Base Sauces

Spagnole: or brown sauce, is traditionally made of a rich meat stock, a mirepoix of browned vegetables (most often a mixture of diced onion, carrots and celery), a nicely browned roux, herbs and sometimes tomato paste.

Demi-glace sauce: the demi-glace is nothing more than the reduction in quantities of dark background and Spagnole sauce. It should be bright, translucent, dark brown and firm texture without being slimy.
Some sauces are derived from the demi-glace use it as a basis and vary according to what is added.


White Base Sauces

Bechamel: the classic white sauce, was named after its inventor, Louis XIV's steward Louis de Béchamel. The king of all sauces, it is often referred to as a cream sauce because of its appearance and is probably used most frequently in all types of dishes. Made by stirring milk into a butter-flour roux, the thickness of the sauce depends on the proportion of flour and butter to milk. The proportions for a thin sauce would be 1 tablespoon each of butter and flour per 1 cup of milk; a medium sauce would use 2 tablespoons each of butter and flour; a thick sauce, 3 tablespoons each.

Velouté: is a stock-based white sauce. It can be made from chicken, veal or fish stock. Enrichments such as egg yolks or cream are sometimes also added.


Emulsified sauces

Are those resulting from an emulsion - the process whereby two liquids are antagonistic in their molecular structure, for example water and oil are dispersed in tiny particles incorporated temporarily or permanently.

The emulsion is temporary when they do not stand for too long: vinaigrette.
It is a permanent element when added emulsifier - egg yolk - which gives it stability:  mayonnaise.


Mayonnaise: is a thick, creamy dressing that's an emulsion of vegetable oil, egg yolks, lemon juice or vinegar and seasonings. It is widely used as a spread, a dressing and as a sauce. It's also used as the base for such mixtures as Tartar Sauce, Thousand Island Dressing, Aïoli, and Remoulade.

Hollandaise: is made with butter, egg yolks and lemon juice, usually in a double boiler to prevent overheating, and served warm. It is generally used to embellish vegetables, fish and egg dishes, such as the classic Eggs Benedict.

Vinagrette: is a sauce made of a simple blend of oil, vinegar, salt and pepper (usually 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar). More elaborate variations can include any combination of spices, herbs, shallots, onions, mustard, etc. It is generally used to dress salad greens and other cold vegetable, meat or fish dishes.


SECRETS FOR SUCCESS :

Constantly stir roux-thickened sauces while cooking to prevent lumps. If you must leave the sauce for a few seconds, set the pan off the heat during that time.

If a roux-thickened sauce develops a few lumps, beat them out with a rotary beater or wire whisk. As a last resort, strain sauce with sieve to remove lumps.

Cook egg-thickened sauces over low heat, or cook these sauces in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water. Always temper (warm) the egg yolks before adding them to the sauce by first stirring in a little of the hot sauce mixture into them. Then add to the remainder of the sauce mixture. Never let a sauce boil after the egg yolks are added as the sauce may curdle.

Don't let water boil in the bottom of the double boiler if you use it to make egg-thickened sauces. Also, be sure that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the pan holding the sauce.