Sauces

A sauce is simply a seasoned liquid that is served with food.  Sauces may accompany food on the plate or are be served as a condiment, along side the dish.  Their purpose is to add flavor and bring moisture to the dish.  Moreover, a sauce should harmonize the elements on a dish and not overwhelm the main item(s).  A good sauce should also:

1. Add complementary or contrasting flavors to the dish
2. Enhance the visual appeal of the dish with colors and textures
3. Provide adequate moisture to otherwise dryer ingredients
4. Add value to the dish while controlling costs

A sauce may be as simple as a flavorful liquid, like soy sauce, fish sauce or the jus from a roast.  Many sauces are also thickened to add body or texture. Other sauces begin with a liquid like a stock, broth, milk, or a juice. A sauce properly thickened is said to be of nappe consistency where the sauce thinly coats the back of a spoon and thus, will cling to another food. Some sauces are may be thickened by reduction, where a sauce is simmered to concentrate flavor, reduce the volume and thicken the sauce.

Classic French Sauces

The classical French sauces or mother sauces refers to 5 sauces that form the basis of French sauce making.  Except for hollandaise, most of the mother sauces are not used directly but as a base from which other derived.  Mother sauces are also known as grande or leading sauces and the derivative sauces are known as daughter or small sauces.

Originally, Antonin Carême codified the French sauces into 4 mother sauces or sauce mères and later, Auguste Escoffier refined this to the 5 mother sauces we know today, béchamel, velouté, espagnole, tomato, and hollandaise.

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