Sauces

Sauces are liquid or partly-liquid foods used to accompany other foods or aid in their preparation.

The variety of sauces in other cuisines includes chutneys, gravies, hot sauces, mustards, pasta sauces, relishes, salsas, and many others.

Sauces in traditional French cuisine

Sauces are an important part of classical French cuisine. The modern system of mother sauces was codified by Antonin Carême in the 19th century and expanded by Auguste Escoffier in the 20th century. Traditionally, the five mother sauces are:

• allemande
• béchamel
• espagnole
• velouté
• tomato

Roux

Roux is a thickening agent used in three of the mother sauces and many others, including gravy. Roux is also an ingredient in soups and soufflés. It is defined as a cooked mixture of flour and butter. The flour includes starch, which provides the thickening power of roux. The purpose of the butter is to disperse the flour before it is added to another medium, preventing lumping, and to cook the starchy flavors out of the flour before it is eaten. The fact that it is cooked gives it an advantage over other flour-based thickening agents like beurre manié—flour kneaded with butter—and slurries—flour agitated with water.

Roux is classified as white roux, blond roux, and brown roux. The three are differentiated by their color, flavor intensity, and thickening power, which is determined by the cooking time.

To make roux, melt butter over medium-low heat, then add flour until it becomes the desired consistency. Usually roux calls for equal parts butter and flour (by weight), but you should add as much as is necessary to get a thin paste. Roux can be made to a thick paste, but it is more difficult to integrate it into other liquids. As soon as the roux is the correct consistency, keep stirring as it cooks.

White roux should be cooked 1–2 minutes and take on no additional coloring. Blond roux should take 3–5 minutes and have a very light brown color and a nutty flavor; longer than that yields a brown roux with bold flavor. Note that the longer a roux is cooked, the thinner it gets, so you may want to compensate for this by beginning with a thicker paste for brown roux.

Any fat or oil can be used in place of the butter. Gravies are usually made with fat from the drippings of the meat they will be served with. Animal fats are more suited for blond and brown roux.

Béchamel

Béchamel sauce is defined as scalded milk thickened with roux. It is a part of many Italian pasta dishes, including cannelloni and lasagne.

Cook a roux to a color that suits the flavor of the dish you are using it in. Add hot milk gradually, stirring to incorporate each time, then simmer uncovered for 10–15minutes. Alternatively, add cold milk directly to the roux, but add it even more slowly, and allow it to begin steaming before mixing it into the roux—otherwise, you risk forming lumps—and simmering for 10–15minutes. When done, season with salt and white pepper.

Use more roux to control the consistency of the béchamel. A paint-like consistency is suitable for pasta and vegetables. A yogurt-like consistency is suitable for lasagne and other baked dishes. Very thick béchamels are used in soufflés.

Variations on béchamel:

• Aromatics such as onion, garlic, and bay leaf can be added to the hot milk or sweated in the butter to add flavor.
• To make a crème sauce, replace the milk with heavy cream.
• To make a Mornay sauce, add shredded Gruyère or other cheese. Mornay sauce is used in macaroni and cheese.
• Thicken the sauce further by adding a liaison of egg yolk and heavy cream.
• Add a sheen to the sauce by adding cold butter before serving.

Pasta Sauces

Main article: Pasta Sauces