Sauces

In cooking, sauce refers to cream, liquid or semi-solid foods that are served or used in preparing any food item. Most of the time, sauces usually are consumed on their own.

They are meant to add moisture, visual appeal, and flavour to any dish. Possibly, Garum is the oldest recorded item that is still used is the fish sauce in Ancient Roam. They always need a liquid component and are an essential element in cuisines across the globe.  They can be used for both savoury and sweet dishes. Today they are prepared and served both in the cold form (as mayonnaise, Chili, Dressings, Ketchup, or Mustard) and cooked form like apple, Curry, or Stir-Fried Sauces. They are freshly cooked in a restaurant, but you can also make them at home or get a readymade option from any store online.

Mother sauces that can work with most recipes

With varying cuisines across the globe and the number of flavours in every traditional setting, it is obvious to have hundreds of types. However, many special types can be listed as the jack of all trades. They come with a unique combination of taste and ingredients that can mix and match with any dish, adding value to the look and taste of your meal. At times you can add them to your recipe while cooking (as in Soy sauce) or can serve them on the table (as in BBQ or Garlic Sauce). But you can also enjoy having some of it that can work fine for all of your flavourings needs no matter what you are planning to serve to guests. Here are some basic flavours you might want to have in your kitchen.

Bechamel Sauce

This one is the simplest of all the mother sauces mostly because it does not require making a stock. It also contains basic ingredients like flour; milk; and clarified butter. It is made by thickening milk with white roux. Later you can flavour it with cloves, onion, and nutmeg. To add taste simmer, it until it turns creamy with a velvety smooth texture. It falls under the category of pasta. So, you can use it in all types of baked pasta recipes like Lasagna or in casseroles. It is also a base for the most commonly used white, cream and cheese-based mixtures.

Velouté sauce

It is another, relatively simpler mother sauce. It is made by thickening white stock with roux and simmering it for a while. Here the chicken velouté made of chicken stock is a common type. However, you can also find veal velouté and fish velouté. Each of these come from their respective secondary mother sauce. For instance, chicken velouté is fortified with cream and becomes a supreme paste. At the same time, veal velouté is made by thickening egg yolks and cream to make allemande pastes.  Some other velouté family members are normandy; bercy; mushroom; herb seafood; and Hungarian sauce.

Espagnole sauce

Sometimes it is also known as brown sauce and is slightly more complex than a mother sauce. It is made by thickening brown stock with a roux. In that sense, it is similar to the velouté.  The difference is that it is made with tomato puree and some mirepoix is added for flavour and deeper colour. The brown stock is made of roasted bone. It is traditional further refined to get deep, rich flavoured pastes known as demi-glace. This demi-glace is also a starting point for a wide range of pastes. Robert, chasseur, and port wine sauce are some of the family members.

The classic tomato sauce

It is the most commonly used member of the family across the globe. It resembles much the traditional tomato sauce that we use on pasta and pizza. The only difference is that classic tomato paste is richer in taste and requires a few additional steps to make. Here you will need to start by rendering the salt pork and sauté aromatic vegetables. Next, you will need to add stock, tomatoes, and ham bones to let simmer in the oven for a few hours. The oven process will help better cooking by evenly spreading the heat. Some family members here are Spanish, creole, Portuguese, and Provençale sauce that you can find online.