W hat are mother sauces? We’ve heard of them, but not quite sure what they are. Mother sauce or Grande sauce is a primary ingredient that forms the basis of many other sauces. There are five mother sauces that add infinite variety to every dish you make. Mastering the art of preparing and modifying each of these basic sauces is the cornerstone of cooking savory food.
You can add different spices and herbs or swap out other ingredients to change your sauces' flavor profiles and spice levels to make them unique. It’s common for chefs to refer to these five sauces as "the mothers of all sauces" and their derivatives as "daughters." This article gives you a quick overview of the five French mother sauces.
The Five Mother Sauces
Hollandaise Sauce
Perhaps the most famous of all mother sauces, Hollandaise is rich, creamy, and buttery. This rich, creamy sauce is lightly flavored with lemon juice and cayenne pepper, made by whisking together egg yolks and melted butter.
Hollandaise originated in France and is mainly served with asparagus, eggs Benedict, and filet mignon. As with all mother sauces, Hollandaise has many derivatives. If you can master making Hollandaise sauce, you won't have difficulty making additions to it and adjusting the heat or seasonings to your liking.
Tomato Sauce
The tomato sauce is considered an essential building block in a cook's repertoire. Its bright, natural flavor brings a touch of levity to rich main dishes, from lasagna to stew.
Whether you are saucing your favorite pasta or making a batch of authentic marinara, tomato sauce is a must. In fact, Italians eat it almost daily. It's simple to make too. Tons of people have tried this delicious sauce, and you should too! The secret to a great tomato sauce is to use fresh tomatoes and to simmer them for a long time until it thickens.
Bechamel Sauce
Bechamel is the hearty cream sauce that is a base for many cheese sauces out there. An Italian cook invented it in the court of King Louis XIV of France in the 1600s. So not only will you find it in classic French dishes but also Greek, Italian, and even Latin American recipes! Spice it with nutmeg and salt to give your dishes an authentic taste that can be either savory or sweet.
It's made by whisking hot milk into a white roux, a mixture of flour and butter. Bechamel is the gentle mother of many modern sauces, including cheese sauce. Creamy bechamel works great in lasagna, madeleines, cauliflower gratin, and creamy soups.
Velouté Sauce
Need to get dinner on the table in a hurry? Velouté sauce is the answer, taking your comfort food from boring to delicious in a flash. Add velouté to various soups, stews, and creamy sauces to take your everyday cooking up a notch.
Variation is the spice of life, or so they say. The most neutral of the five mother sauces, velouté is a blank canvas for adding unique flavor profiles. While its name might sound fancy, velouté sauce is a simple white sauce as humble as it is useful.
The word velouté means velvet in French, and you’ll love the texture you find in this dish. Once you’ve mastered this mother sauce, you’ll be able to add flavorings like wine or lemon juice to create even more inspired variations.
Espagnole Sauce
Complex, aromatic, rich—an Espagnole sauce is the backbone of many other sauces. It is a brown sauce with a rich, meaty flavor and should be used sparingly to complement, not overpower your food. Nevertheless, Espagnole remains a mainstay of the professional kitchen and is considered a must-learn for any aspiring cook and chef.
Making a great Espagnole Sauce requires patience and practice. But once you've got the technique down, it will be your favorite accompaniment to lamb, steamed veal, and duck. It is the star of the French stew boeuf bourguignon, classic duck dishes like confit or veal dishes like veal demi-glace.
It gives that signature richness to boeuf bourguignon, duck, veal, and other hearty dishes. Espagnole is the basis for demi-glace, sauce Robert, and bordelaise sauce.
Conclusion
We hope the question ‘what are mother sauces?’ has been answered. These sauces will give you a cherished, tried, and true classic that you can use as the foundation for your sauces. The best part? Your dishes will have an established flavor profile and your signature twist. Remember to balance out your flavors and make sure it works with the dish!
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- mother sauces guide
- making mother sauces
- mother sauce ingredients
- five mother sauces
