Gourments consider fine, delicate and/or flavourful sauces the greatest test of a chef’s skill.

Whether a classic sauce or a reduction of pan juices with some coulis, sauces require impeccable technical knowledge and timing.

A sauce is thickened liquid flavoured with a particular main ingredient (mostly bones) and several flavour-enhancing ingredients.

In olden times, sauces were mainly used to mask off-flavours. In the 18the and 19th centuries, French court cooks and chefs of nobility started to lighten up sauces in an attempt to enhance and show off the meat or fish or poultry they were presenting.

France’s great mastery of silky sauces remains to this day a major culinary achievement of French cooking genius.

Sauces can juxtapose complementary flavours or counterpoint them, i.e. Sauce supreme is made by reducing chicken veloute with chicken stock and finishing it with cream. It complements chicken breast or any simply pan-fired chicken part.
Sauce Robert, on the other hand, is traditionally served with pork loin as counterpoint flavour. He sharpness of the mustard and the acidity of cornichons take away some of the richness of the meat. Sauces add moisture and succulence to the main ingredient of a dish. When cooking naturally lean meats like chicken breast or flat-fish, chefs use rich sauces or flavour-infused butters.

Sauces add visual appeal and interest. A well-made shiny, vibrant sauce sets off the main ingredient.

Sauces adjust flavours, i.e tarragon infused cream sauce with chicken breast.
Sauces enhance texture by the inclusion of a final ingredient to contrast a soft-textured dish.

Sauces can be conveniently grouped into:
Brown sauces (based on sauce Espagnole and brown veal stock= demi glace)
White sauces (based on a roux, onion, milk and flavourings)
Red (tomato sauces)
Egg and butter based (yellow) sauces i.e Hollandaise and its derivatives.
Homemade mayonnaise is an olive oil and egg yolk based sauce. It is delicious and delightful, served with poached salmon swerved cold, in ham and cheese sandwiches, French fried (yes f.f.), and dressings just to name a few.

Stocks represent the gases of flavour of sauces and are generally (at least in western cuisines) derived from beef, veal, chicken and fish bones, flavouring agents, and water.

In the Middle East some chefs use lamb bones.

Here are some sauces and the dishes they complement best:

Sauce poivrade – beefsteaks
Sauce chasseur –veal.
Sauce charcuterie – pork
Sauce Robert – pork
Sauce Madeire – beef
Sauce Bordelaise – lamb
Sauce Béchamel – chicken
Sauce Mornay – veal or chicken
Sauce cardinal – lobster, Dover sole
Sauce veloute – chicken
Sauce Nantua – salmon, shrimp
Sauce tomate – pork, chicken, pastas
Sauce Hollandaise – grilled beef
Sauce Bearnaise – grilled beef
Sauce mousseline – baked or grilled salmon

Flavorued butters

Beurre blanc – baked or grilled salmon, pan-fried veal scallops
Beurre d’ecrevisse – crayfish
Sauce d’homard – lobster
Sauce maitre d’hotel-grilled beef

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail.   Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?

One sure way to create new taste dimensions is the use of sauces and condiments. Sauces provide inventive cooks with the creative outlets needed to accentuate any staple. Sauces give free reign to restaurant operators to create a signature dish and new marketing opportunities. While everyone wants a comfortable atmosphere, excellent service and great tasting foods it is the latter that most often differentiates a restaurant and represents the reason for guest’s return.

Sauces are delicately, and sometimes strongly flavoured concentrated liquids designed to enhance and complement the taste of the main ingredient on the plate.

Many classically trained chefs regard flavourful sauces as the pinnacle of cuisine, both in skill and interest. Texturally and taste wise sauces provide excitement. Often, the most memorable part of a gastronomic meal is the sauce. The saucier in a large kitchen brigade is considered a key player, and often replaces the sous chef on his/her off days.

A sauce works like a seasoning. It enhances and accents the flavour of the food. A well-prepared sauce never overwhelms the main ingredient. Good cooks know that sauces are as valuable as salt and pepper. Even a grilled steak is tastes better with a dab of compound butter or a spoonful of Sauce Béarnaise.

Any skilled cook possesses the basics of good sauce making.
There are cold and hot sauces. Mayonnaise and others fall into cold sauces category, whereas Sauce Bordelaise falls into the hot. Then there are mother sauces from which several others are derived.

Mayonnaise can be flavoured with chopped parsley, chopped watercress, even curry. Artistic cooks know intuitively or by experience which flavours work with basic sauces and those that clash.

In hot sauces the stock represents the foundation. Stocks can be produced using beef-, veal-, chicken-, duck-, lamb- and fish bones and vegetables.
From beef stock chefs derive demi-glace which forms the basis of the following sauces: Poivrade, Madere, Bordelaise, Robert, Chasseur, Charcutiere just to name a few.

Béchamel based on a roux and milk represents the foundation of Sauce Mornay, Cream, Shrimp, Cardinal, Nantua, Ecossaise, and many others.
Sauce Hollandaise based on yolks, peppercorns, vinegar, butter and lemon juice is the foundation (mother) sauce for the following: Maltaise, Mousseline, Béarnaise, Foyot, Choron just to name a few.

Today many chefs prefer creating quick sauces by using pan juices of fried meats and wine by reduction. This technique has advantages. It eliminates lengthy stock preparations, and refrigerated space. Food manufacturers, ever astute to generate more profits, have invented semi-solid or powdered stocks and sauce bases for a long time now. They are designed for people with little or no cooking knowledge. Anyone who can read and follow a recipe can use these products. Some are good; many rely heavily on salt and little else.

Pending on the class of the restaurant chefs must make choices given monetary, space and skill constraints.

An expertly prepared sauce using the correct ingredients of quality will never fail to elevate any meat, fish or fowl recipe to heavenly heights.

Whatever flavour profile chefs choose, sauce is a sure way to flavour protein or pasta. Sauces provide ample opportunities for creativity, excitement and experimentation. That’s what diners look for, and restaurateurs delivering flavourful dishes reap the benefits of culinary excellence.

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail.   Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?