Qu'est-ce que c'est: The Mother Sauces

By L. Stolpman in Food on Aug 17, 2010 6:20PM

If you've ever taken a look at French cuisine, you may have noticed references to the five "Mother Sauces." We thought we'd go over them briefly to help you better understand both recipes and menus. Let's get started!

1. Hollandaise - Hollandaise is an emulsification of egg yolks and butter. It is made by warming egg yolks (often with a touch of acid - vinegar or lemon juice, for example) and slowly heating before adding clarified butter. This is a tricky sauce to master because if the yolks are warmed too much, they will curdle.

2. Espagnole - Often called a brown sauce. Traditionally made with veal stock and thickened with a brown roux (a butter and flour combination). Flavored with a mirepoix (celery, onion, carrot mix).

3. Tomato Sauce - Sounds obvious, right? Made from tomatoes and has multiple variations.

4. Bechamel - Often called a simple white sauce. Made by whisking scalded milk into a lightly colored roux. Often flavored with a small touch of nutmeg. Add cheese and it is a Mornay sauce.

5. Veloute - Veloute starts much like Espagnole in that it is traditionally made with veal stock and thickened with a roux, though sometimes a mixture of egg yolks and cream is used to thicken it (called a Liaison). This sauce is almost exclusively used as a base, however, and the bones used to make the stock are not roasted.

There you have it - a quick look at the Five Mother Sauces of French cooking!

Photo by Chenutis.