An emulsified sauce is made by combining two immiscible liquids, or liquids that don’t normally combine, often with a binding or emulsifying ingredient. When a basic vinaigrette is made by combining oil and vinegar without an emulsifier, the vinaigrette is said to be a temporary emulsion. When immiscible liquids are combined with an emulsifier and form a stable mixture, the resulting emulsion is referred to as a permanent emulsion. Short of using an ultrasonic-homogenizer, a stable, long-lasting, emulsified sauce cannot be made without an emulsifier.
In the kitchen, an egg yolk is the most common emulsifier. Lecithin and other proteins in egg yolks have lipophilic and hydrophilic properties that bind oil and water or water-like ingredients. One large egg yolk can emulsify about 7 ounces of oil, though for a hollandaise the ratio of butter used is more like 2 to 3 ounces of butter for every egg yolk, with larger quantities of hollandaise using closer to 3 ounces of butter per yolk.
The warm emulsified egg sauces like hollandaise and béarnaise are similar to cold emulsified egg sauces like mayonnaise except for the use of butter instead of oil. The use of butter necessitates that those sauces be made and served warm to keep the butter fluid.
Warm Emulsified Sauces
Hollandaise or a béarnaise sauce are made by creating a sabayon, where egg yolks and flavorings are gently warmed until the egg yolks thicken to a “ribbon-consistency.” Melted whole or clarified butter is slowly whisked into the sabayon to form the sauce. In a hollandaise, the flavorings might be just some lemon juice or a reduction of vinegar flavored with shallots and peppercorns. Béarnaise sauce uses a tarragon-flavored vinegar reduction.
Whole butter is approximately 15% water and milk solids. Clarifying butter removes the water and milk solids leaving only the butterfat. When melted whole butter is added to a sabayon, each addition thins the the resulting emulsification. With clarified butter, each addition thickens the emulsion. Much of butter’s flavor comes from the milk solids that are removed in the clarification process. So using clarified butter, as opposed to whole butter when making a hollandaise will result in a thicker sauce but with less buttery flavor. One solution is to reserve the water and milk solids from the clarified butter and then add it back into a thick hollandaise to adjust the consistency and improve the sauce’s flavor.
Temperature control is critical when making and holding a warm emulsified sauce. Egg yolks, by themselves, begin to coagulate at 144˚F. Adding an acid to eggs can increase this to as much as 195˚F. The TDZ or Temperature Danger Zone is 41˚F to 135˚F is the temperature at which pathogenic organisms multiply rapidly and which certain foods must be limited in exposure to. Ideally, a warm emulsified sauce. i.e. hollandaise, is best made and held at around 120˚F to 145˚F. Since this rest in the TDZ, these sauces should not be held longer than 1 1/2 to 2 hours and any new batch shouldn’t be added to an old batch.
(Read more about hollandaise here.)
| Sauce | Ingredients | Uses | ||
| Hollandaise | Egg yolks, clarified butter, lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper | Warm vegetables, artichoke hearts, fish, eggs | ||
| Mousseline | Three parts hollandaise and one part whipped cream | Same as hollandaise | ||
| Moutarde | Hollandaise and mustard | Same as hollandaise | ||
| Maltaise | Hollandaise, blood orange juice, blanched orange zest | Fish mousses or turbot | ||
| Mikado | Hollandaise, mandarin orange juice, blanched mandarin orange zest | Corn or poached fish | ||
| Béarnaise | Egg yolks, clarified butter, salt, tarragon, chervil, reduction of white wine, vinegar, shallots, tarragon, peppercorns | Grilled meats or fish | ||
| Foyot or Valois | Béarnaise and meat glaze | Grilled fish | ||
| Choron | Béarnaise and tomato concassé | Grilled meat or fish | ||
| Paloise | Béarnaise with mint instead of tarragon | Lamb or shrimp brochettes | ||
| Tyrolienne | Béarnaise with a neutral oil instead of clarified butter | Grilled meat |
Cold Emulsified Sauces
Mayonnaise is the the foundational cold emulsified sauce from which we derive other cold emulsified sauces. Room temperature egg yolks are combined with flavorings and seasonings and then oil is slowly whisked in until a smooth emulsified sauce is formed. Traditionally, mayonnaise is made with a neutral-flavored oil such as grape seed or canola oil but oils like olive oil or nut oils may also be used. Mustard may be used for flavoring and its emulsifying properties. Lemon juice or vinegar may be used for the acidic component. Since the egg yolks are not cooked, fresh-prepared mayonnaise should be used immediately or chilled rapidly and stored, covered and refrigerated and used within a few days. Pasteurized egg yolks could be used to limited the possibility of contamination.
When making a mayonnaise, it is important that all the ingredients are at room temperature to aid in the emulsification process–cold ingredients do not meld together well.
| Sauce | Ingredients | Uses | ||
| Mayonnaise | Egg yolks, mustard, oil, acid | Salads,cold fresh shellfish,and meats | ||
| Verte | Mayonnaise and green herbs | Cold fish, shellfish, and meats | ||
| Rémoulade | Mayonnaise, capers, cornichons, chervil, tarragon, parsley, chives, tarragon; chopped onion and hard-cooked egg are optional | Fried fish, cold meats. and poultry | ||
| Gribiche | Mayonnaise, hard-cooked eggs, mustard, cornichons, parsley, chervil, parsley, chervil, tarragon | Cold fish and deep-fried foods | ||
| Chantilly | Two parts Mayonnaise, and one part whipped cream | Cold asparagus or artichokes | ||
| Aïoli | Mayonnaise, garlic, sometimes saffron | Vegetables and fish | ||
| Rouille | Mayonnaise, white bread, garlic, paprika, saffron | Traditional accompaniment to Provençal fish soups or stews, especially bouillabaisse | ||
| Andalouse | Mayonnaise, tomato coulis, diced peppers | Hard-cooked eggs and vegetables |
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