Mother Sauces

A sauce is the perfect accessory to a dish. It adds a layer of flavor to elevate and compliment the other elements on a plate. Sauces can elevate a dish through added moisture, visual interest and flavor. In culinary school, one of the first things taught is the construction of a sauce. Bechamel, Veloute, Espagnole, Tomato, and Hollandaise are known as the Mother Sauces. But Chefs aren’t known to always stick so close to the classics and have created numerous derivatives. The French Chef gives an excellent explanation of these derivatives in an episode called “The Hollandaise Family”. In this episode the incomparable Julia Child discusses Hollandaise and its off-shoots. I recommend binge watching her show in YouTube it is so amazing and educational. When learning how to make a new sauce in culinary school, Chefs present how a dish should look for the test. Students are then given free rein to create a dish to pair with the sauce. I realize that this can be daunting to a home cook, so I have some serving suggestions for each sauce.  Most of my experience is in pastry, so I enlisted the help of some friends in the industry. The following represents our collective perspectives.

Bechamel: This sauce is also called a white sauce; it is traditionally made with milk and a white roux. Think of this sauce as the ultimate blank slate, this sauce takes on flavor well and when made correctly is very stable. One of the derivatives of this sauce is beer cheese. This sauce adds more levels of flavor to nachos, fries, and is a delicious base for mac ‘n’ cheese.

Veloute: I consulted Kelli, a very talented school friend, on how she uses Veloute in the kitchen. Veloute is also a white sauce but created with a stock base and thickened with dairy like cream or eggs. White stock is customarily chicken but can be fish or vegetable stock. Kelli usually makes this mother sauce as a pan sauce or a base for soup. She also favors Aurore sauce, this is created by adding tomato paste and butter to Veloute. Aurore sauce can be used in many dishes, but my favorite is a fresh new take on Eggs Benedict.

Espagnole: This mother sauce is a basic brown sauce that is also a base for traditional demi-glace. Espagnole is like Veloute in that is a stock thickened with a roux, but the stock is brown and usually beef. Demi glace is a simple to make sauce with rich flavor and can add dimension to simple cuts of meat. It is made with equal parts brown stock and Espagnole that is reduced by half or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Tomato: Who hasn’t made spaghetti with tomato sauce? The difference between this sauce and what’s in the
can is the amount of effort and richness of flavor. The use of roux in this recipe is not as popular as the traditional Italian technique of reduction. You can amp up your sandwiches with a tomato jam or have a spicy breakfast dish with Shakshuka, a traditional Middle Eastern and North African dish.

Hollandaise: Hollandaise is an emulsion of egg yolks, clarified butter, and lemon juice. A fresh take on this recipe adds creamy avocado to the recipe for Avodaise. The lemon juice can be replaced with white wine vinegar and tarragon, to create Bearnaise. A sauce that pairs perfectly with steaks.

Roux: While not a sauce, roux is an essential tool in creating a sauce. Simply an equal mix of fat (usually
butter) and flour, this thickener can be cooked to different colors for different strengths. A white roux adds little flavor but is the most powerful thickener. In contrast the darkest roux, also called chocolate roux, has about a quarter of the thickening power to the white roux but contains a deep toasted flavor.