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“A sauce should never be considered a disguise or a mask. Its role is to point up, prolong, and complement the taste of the food it accompanies, to contrast with it, or to give variety to its presentation.”

By Sarah Carney and Jordan Thayer

Salse

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History of Sauces

The word "sauce" is a French word that means a relish to make our food more appetizing. Sauces are liquid or semi-liquid foods devised to make other foods look, smell, and taste better, and hence be more easily digested and more beneficial. Because of the lack of refrigeration in the early days of cooking, meat, poultry, fish, and seafood didn't last long. Sauces and gravies were used to mask the flavor of tainted foods.

It was first used by the Romans in 200 A.D. - The Romans used sauces to disguise the taste of the food. Possibly to conceal doubtful freshness.

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Vocabulary

Béchamel sauce is a white

sauce made by thickening milk with a

white roux. It is sometimes flavored

with onions, cloves, and bay leaves.

Brown sauce has a rich brown

color and is typically served with

meats.

Chutney is a sauce with a

noticeably chunky texture that is typically

served with meats, poultry, or fish.

Compound butter is made by softening

butter and blending it with ingredients

such as minced herbs, shallots, ginger,

citrus zest, or spices.

Chutney

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Coulis is a thick puréed sauce, usually made from vegetables or fruits.
Demi-glace is made by simmering espagnol sauce with an equal amount of brown veal stock until the sauce is intensely flavored and thick enough to coat foods.
Derivative sauce is a grand sauce

combined with other seasonings or

garnishes for a specific flavor, color,

or texture.

Coulis

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Espagnol sauce is a brown sauce made by thickening a brown veal stock with a roux
Grand sauces are the main branches of sauces, groups where all of the other sauces can be grouped into.
Hollandaise sauce is made by blinding melted or clarified butter into slightly cooked egg yolks.

Jus de veau lié is made by simmering a brown stock with flavorings and aromatics and, in some cases, additional bones or meat trimmings to intensify flavor.

Hollandaise

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Purée

Liaison is a mixture of cream and egg yolks that are added to a sauce at the end of cooking time.
Nappé is a French term used to describe a sauce that has been thickened enough to lightly coat foods.
Purée is a very fine paste made by cooking a flavorful ingredient until it is very soft and the straining it or using a food processor or blander to chop it very fine.

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Refined starch is made

form a starchy ingredient

such as corn, rice, or potatoes

that is processed to remove all

elements except the starch.

Relish is a sauce with a noticeably chunky texture that is typically served with meats, poultry, or fish.
Roux is a cooked paste made from wheat flour and fat.
Salsa is a cold sauce made from a combination of vegetables, typically tomatoes, onions, peppers and chilies.

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Starch slurry is a mixture of a refined starch and cold water.
Tempering is a special technique used to warm a liaison.
Velouté is a white sauce made by thickening a poultry, fish, or shellfish stock with a bland roux.

Zucchini Velouté

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Key Concepts 1

The basic ingredients for sauces are liquids, aromatics and seasonings, and thickeners.

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Thickeners

Three thickeners are: roux, starch slurry, and liaison.

To prepare roux, cook equal parts of fat and flour together.
To prepare starch slurry, stir refined starch and a cold
liquid together until the starch is dissolved and the
mixture has the consistency of heavy cream.
To prepare liaison, blend
cream and egg yolks in a bowl
until they are very smooth.
Tempering the liaison is necessary
or the eggs will overcook when they
are added to a hot liquid.

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Key Concepts 2

The main branches of sauces are: grand sauces, derivative sauces, and miscellaneous sauces.

There are five main types of
grand sauces: brown sauce,
béchamel sauce, velouté
sauce, tomato sauce, and
hollandaise sauce.
Derivative sauces are derived
from grand sauces.
Some miscellaneous sauces are:
compound butter, coulis, gravy, salsa,
relish or chutney, “specialty sauces”
(include applesauce, barbeque sauce, etc.)

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Key Concepts 3

When preparing sauces, it is

very important to use the

correct equipment.

Preparing sauces takes patience

and requires attention to detail.

When storing sauces, it is possible

to either serve it immediately after it is

prepared, or some can be served for a

few days.

When serving a sauce immediately,
transfer it to a holder to deep it very warm.
When storing a sauce for several days, make sure to cool it in an ice bath and store it in an airtight container.

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Key Concepts 4

When presenting sauces, it is important to serve sauces at the right temperature, hold sauces properly, and season sauces properly.

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Tip 1

Checking roux– to check if roux is cooked out, take a small taste of the sauce (using proper tasting procedures). Hold it against the roof of your mouth with the tip of your tongue. It should feel very smooth, with no cereal taste.

Tempering a liaison– it is easier to temper a liaison with two people. One person can ladle the hot liquid while the other holds the bowl steady and whisks. If you are on your own, set the bowl on a dampened towel to keep it steady as you whisk.

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Tip 2

“Spanish Sauce”– Espagnol sauce got its name, which translates from French as it is a Spanish sauce, because

of its use of

tomatoes. Spanish

cooks adopted

tomatoes into their

cooking before French chefs

did.

Only Hollandaise–

if hollandaise sauce looks oily,

you are adding butter to quickly.

Stop adding butter. Whisk over

barely simmering heat until the

existing butter is absorbed into the

yolks.

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Tip 3

Holding Sauce– A sauce thickened with a starch slurry typically does not hold on a steam table as well as a roux-thickened sauce.

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Thickeners

Examples of thickeners are: roux, starch slurry, liaison, and purée.

Roux

Roux is made by cooking equal parts of fat and four together.
It can be used to cool and thicken sauces.

Starch slurries

Thicken liquids more quickly than roux.
Slurry is added gradually to a simmering liquid.

Liaison

Blended cream and egg yolks.
It is added to a hot liquid after tempering the liaison.

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Liquids

Stocks are the main liquid ingredient in many sauces.
Milk or cream may also be main liquid ingredients in some sauces.

Aromatics and seasonings

Shallots, onions, leeks, and
mushrooms are often added to
a sauce as it cooks.
The most basic seasonings for
sauces are salt and pepper.

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Grand sauces

Types of grand sauces are: brown, béchamel, velouté, tomato, and hollandaise sauce.

Derivative sauces

Are derived from grand sauces.
Examples include onion sauce and shrimp sauce.

Miscellaneous sauces

Include: compound butter, coulis, gravy, salsa, relish or chutney, and “specialty sauces”.

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Equipment used in preparing sauces

Using the correct equipment is
very important in preparing sauces.
Make sure pots and pans are not
warped, as that can damage the sauce.

Storing sauces

You can serve a sauce immediately after preparation is finished.
Sauces can be stored for several days before they go bad.

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Recipe 1

Sarah’s Applesauce

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

18 apples; peeled, cored, and chopped
3 1/3 c. water
1 c. and 2 tbsp. white sugar
2 ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

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Recipe 2

The Greatest Buffalo Chicken Wing Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups of dry cayenne peppers (50 grams)�1/2 cup of water�1/3 cup of chopped onion�1 chopped garlic�1/3 cup of chopped tomato�1 cup of white vinegar�1 stick of butter�1 bottle of Lousiana Hot Sauce�1/2 of the juice of 1 lemon�1 teaspoon of honey�1/4 cup of ketchup

Directions:

Start by roasting the cayenne peppers on a pan over a medium high flame. Toss them around inside the pan for a couple of minutes and make sure you don't let these get burned. Add enough water to cover the peppers and bring water to a boil. Let them cook for ten minutes. Drain water and place them in blender. Add 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of vinegar and salt. Blend on high and allow to percolate.
Place butter stick on a pan over a medium flame so that it melts. Add onion, garlic, tomato and the whole bottle of Lousiana Hot Sauce.
Let all cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Immediately pour into blender and add the percolated cayenne pepper sauce. Blend on high for two minutes. Add the lemon juice, honey and ketchup, and blend again for a few seconds. Pour back into the pan where you melted the butter, and let it simmer for a good 20 minutes.

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Recipe 3

Gutsy’s Pesto Sauce
Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups fresh Italian basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh flat leafed parsley
1/4 cup fresh chevril
1 to 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil (First Cold Pressed)
5 tablespoons pinion or pine nuts, roasted
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
5 anchovies, preserved in olive oil
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (Do not use supermarket pre-grated cheese!)
4 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions:

Process the basil, parsley, chervil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic cloves, salt and pepper, and the anchovies in a food processor (Do not blend too fine!). Blend, stopping from time to time to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl. When the ingredients are well blended, pour them into a bowl and add the grated cheeses.

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Works Cited