Lesson 7

Sauces
Chapter Learning Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, the student should be able to...

1. recognize the functions of sauces;
2. list the main ingredients in making a sauce;
3. appreciate the importance of thickening agent in making a sauce;
4. recognize different thickening agents;
5. explain the different types of roux;
6. demonstrate how to incorporate roux;
7. describe the finishing techniques of sauces;
8. recognize the standard quality of sauces;
9. list and differentiate the five leading sauces; and
10. distinguish secondary leading sauces and their derivatives.
Sauce
The word sauce came from the Latin word salus, meaning "salted".
Spanish and Italians used the term salsa for sauce. Thee French term
sauce means to relish and complement foods and make them more
appetizing to eat. Sauces are flavorful liquids, normally thickened, and
they add flavor and excitement to a dish that is otherwise bland. It
works like a seasoning. It enhances and accents the flavor of the food;
it should, however, not dominate or hide the food.
 Functions of a Sauce A sauce adds the following qualities to foods:
1. Provides moisture
2. Enhances flavor
3. Provides richness
4. Enrich appearance (color and shine)
5. Creates interest and appetite appeal Structure of a Sauce The
main ingredients used in making sauce are the following:
 Structure of a Sauce
The main ingredients used in making sauce are the following:
1. Liquid It serves as the base or the body of most sauces. The most
commonly used liquid base stocks for sauces is a stock. Leading
sauces are built on five liquid bases. White (chicken, veal, or fish) are
used for veloute sauces and brown stock for brown sauce or
espagnole (ess-pahn-yohl). Milk is used for béchamel. Tomato plus
stock is used for tomato sauce and clarified butter for hollandaise.
However, not all sauces are made with liquid, others require solid
ingredients such as salsa.
2. Thickening Agent A good sauce must be thick but not too heavy and
pasty. A sauce must be thick enough to stick lightly to the food. The
French word nappe is used to describe the right texture of the sauce.
It is a sauce consistency that is thick enough to coat the back of the
spoon in a thin layer.
3. Other Flavoring Ingredients Adding flavoring ingredients to one of
the mother sauces can make different variations of sauces.
The components in the sauce structure should be prepared and
combined very well to come up with an excellent sauce.
 Thickening Agents
The purpose of thickening the sauces or soups is to add consistency and texture
and help the sauce linger on the tongue. Thus, thickening the sauce can block
flavors, so it may require more flavor and seasoning. Unlike thin sauces, it has a
direct and intense flavor may on the palate but has no lasting effect.
Starches
The most commonly used thickening agents for sauces are starches. Mainly, flour
is used as thickeners for sauces. When starch absorbs water, it thickens through
gelatinization. It is important to not add acid ingredients to sauces until the
starch has fully gelatinized because acid inhibits gelatinization. Lumping occurs
when the starch outside of the lump quickly gelatinizes into a coating that
prevents liquid from reaching the starch inside. To avoid lumps, starch granules
must be separated before heating in liquid.
How to Separate Starch Granules
1. Mixing the starch with fat (principle of roux and beurre manie.)
2. Mixing the starch with cold liquid (slurry)

3. Roux (roo)
Roux is a thickening agent made from equal weight parts of flour and fat.
Flour
Generally, bread flour and all-purpose flour are used as starch because the starch
content is less than the cake flour. Eight parts (such as ounces or grams) of a cake
flour has the same thickening ability as 10 parts of bread flour and all-purpose
flour. If other flour will be used in making roux aside from all-purpose flour and
bread flour, the proportion of fat should be adjusted accordingly.
 Fat
There is a wide variety of fat content that can be used in making a roux, such as
clarified butter, margarine, animal fats, vegetable oil, and shortening. The use of
fat in making a roux depends upon the requirement of taste, aroma, and texture
of the sauce and gravy preparation. Clarified butter is used for the finest sauces
because of its flavor. However, it tends to gelatinize starch that makes the roux
hard to work. Margarine is used as a replacement for butter because of its
cheaper cost. Its flavor is modest compared to butter. Animal fats are used for
gravies. Lard, chicken, and beef drippings can be used to enhance the flavor of
the sauce. Vegetable oil and shortening have no flavor. The high melting point of
shortening gives unpleasant muzzy feeling in the mouth. That is why it is mostly
used only in baking.
 How to Prepare Roux
It is important to have equal weight parts of flour and fat ingredients. Fat should
be heated and melted in a saucepan before adding the flour. It should be stirred
together until it is well blended. The color of the roux depends on the period of
time that the mixture is heated. Low heat is used for brown roux and moderate
heat for white and blond roux.

The Three Types of Roux

• White Roux - It is a mixture of fat and flour that is cooked for 2-3 minutes at a
moderate heat, just enough to cook the raw flavor of flour while maintaining
the white color of the mixture and without developing any toasted or burnt
aroma. All milk-based sauces, such as bechamel, are made with white roux.
• Blond Roux - It is a pale roux—also known as yellow roux or golden roux.
Blond roux is cooked a little longer than the white roux. It is cooked for 3-5
minutes, thus, caramelizing it and giving it a dark blond color. Blond roux has
a balanced flavor and taste. It has a stronger thickening power than the
brown roux.
• Brown Roux - It is cooked for 8-10 minutes until the color of the mixture
becomes brown and develops a nutty aroma. Brown roux has less thickening
power than white and blond roux because it requires more time to cook the
flour in sauce making; thus, the quantity required is more in sauce making.
Brown roux is used in preparation of an espagnole sauce and brown gravies.
 How to Incorporate Roux
Method 1: Adding Liquid to Roux
This method is used when a roux is made up specifically for the
sauce, gravy, or soup being prepared.
1. Use a heavy sauce pot to prevent scorching of either the roux or
the sauce.
2. When the roux is made, remove the pan from the fire for a few
minutes to cool slightly.
3. Slowly pour in the liquid, all the while beating vigorously with a
wire whip to prevent lumps from forming.
• If the liquid is hot (such as simmering milk for bechamel sauce),
you must beat especially well because the starch will gelatinize
quickly.
• If the liquid is cool, you can add a quantity of it. Beat to dissolve
the roux, and then add the remainder of the liquid—hot or cool.
 How to Incorporate Roux
4. Bring the liquid to a boil, continuing to beat well. The roux does
not reach its full thickening power until near the boiling point. 5.
Simmer the sauce, stirring from time to time until all the starchy
taste of the flour is cooked out.This takes at least 10 minutes, but
the flavor and consistency of the sauce improve if it is cooked
longer. Many chefs feel 20 minutes of simmering is a bare
minimum. Others cook some sauces for an hour or longer. 6.
When the sauce is finished, it may be kept hot in a bain-marie or
cooled for later use. Either way, it should be covered or have a
thin film of butter melted onto the top to prevent a skin from
forming.
 How to Incorporate Roux
Method 2: Adding the Roux to the Liquid
Many restaurants make up large batches of roux to last all day or
even all week. This method may be used in these situations.
1. Bring the liquid to a simmer in a heavy pot.
2. Add a small quantity of roux and beat vigorously with a whip to
break up all lumps.
3. Continue to beat small quantities into the simmering liquid until
the desired consistency is reached. Remember that roux must be
simmered for a time to thicken completely, so do not add roux
too quickly, or you risk over thickening the sauce.
4. Continue to simmer until the roux is cooked out and no starchy
taste remains.
5. If the sauce is to be simmered for a long time, under thicken it
because it will thicken as it reduces.
2. Butter Mannie (burr-mahnyay)
• It is made by an equal mixture of soft raw butter and flour kneaded together
to form a smooth paste. Small pea-sized pieces of paste are drop off into a
simmering sauce. Consistent stirring is made until the sauce becomes
smooth. Simmer sauce just a few minutes more to cook flour. It is generally
used for quick thickening or thickening at the end of the cooking. The butter
adds flavor and shines as it melts.
3. White Wash
• White wash thickening agent is a thin mixture of cold water and flour that is
whisked together into a "slurry" before being added into a sauce. This mixture
is flavorless and only used to thicken a dish that needs to be serves
immediately. It is not recommended and is an extremely poor technique to
use.
4. Slurry
• A slurry is a mixture of equal parts of cornstarch and liquid (normally water,
stock, or wine). Cornstarch must be dissolved in a cold liquid before adding
slurry to the simmering sauce while stirring constantly. Adding cornstarch
directly to the sauce will make the sauce lumpy. Starches begin to gelatinize
around 60°C (140°F), so you will not notice the immediate thickening action.

REMEMBER: Do not boil sauces thickened with cornstarch too long. It will break
down the starch, which can result in a watery sauce.
Other Starches
1. Arrowroot
• Arrowroot has a high cost and is obtained from several tropical plants. It has
the same thickening ability, texture, and appearance as the cornstarch; thus,
it does not break down easily, and it produces a clearer finished product with
more neutral taste.
2. Waxy Maize
• Maize is handled like cornstarch. It does not break down and does not lose its
thickening ability when frozen. This is used for sauces that are needed to be
frozen.
3. Pregelatinized or Instant Starches
• Pregelatinized or instant starches rehydrate immediately in water even
without heat d delivers a uniform high viscosity batter. It has dual roles-
binding and thickening agent—and is more commonly used in baking than in
sauce making.
4. Bread Crumbs and Other Crumbs
• An economical way of thickening sauces or soups is by pulverizing or
crumbling cooked wheat, such as bread, crackers, and cookies. The purpose
of using breadcrumbs in acient times is to use leftover stale bread

Dairy Products
1. Butter
• Butter is best used as a thickener for wine and stock based sauces. Softened
butter is added to the hot sauce off the heat at the end of the cooking
process and swirled until welted. Butter may separate if it is allowed to stand.
Finishing sauce with butter is known as monter au beurre (mohn-tay-oh-burr)
that gives shine and smoothness as well as adds a rich, fresh taste of raw
butter.
2. Cream
• The cream must be reduced when using as thickener. The cream must be
reduced at about a third of its volume to concentrate fat globules. It is added
to enrich the sauce.
3. Egg Yolks
• Egg yolks have lecithin that helps thicken and emulsify sauces. It has rich
flavor and offers a smooth texture; thus, it can only be achieved with proper
cooking techniques.
• Egg yolks are sensitive to heat; overheating can easily ruin the sauce. It must
not be boiled to avoid curdling. Temper or tempering is used as a technique
to prevent curdling by bringing similar temperatures of the two liquids before
combining them completely. To temper eggs, gradually pour hot liquid on the
eggs while constantly whisking the eggs. Continue by slowly adding hot liquid
to the eggs to bring up the temperature of the eggs and avoid scrambling
them.
Liaison (lee-AY-zhon)
• A liaison describes the process of thickening a sauce or soup by using a
mixture of egg yolk and heavy cream that add richness and smoothness to
the sauce at the end of the cooking process. It has a minimal thickening
ability.
• Pure eggs curdle at around 60-70°C (140-150°F), and mixing egg yolks to the
cream raises the curdling temperature at around 83℃(180-185°F).That is
liaison should not be added to the sauce and soups to be stored in the
refrigerator because boiling during reheating can cause curdling eggs.
 Procedures in Using a Liaison
1. Beat your egg yolks and heavy cream together in a stainless or glass
bowl until the moisture becomes smooth. Normal proportion are 2-
3 parts cream to 1-part egg yolks. (this is your laison)
2. Slowly add a cup of hot liquid (hot valoute) to the laison and whisk
constantly. This process is also known as tempering. This will
prevent the egg yolks from scrambling and the cream from curdling
from the heat.
3. Turn off the heat, and gradually add the warmed, dilluted laison
back into the veloute sauce while constantly stirring
4. Bring back the sauce into low heat and gently simmer not higher
than 83°C (180°F). Do not let it boil, or it will curdle.
5. Hold for service around 69C (140°F) but lower than 83°C (180°F).
Vegetable Purees, Groundnuts, and other Solids
• No additional thickener is added for puree. The puree itself is already thick,
and that Vegetable Purees, Groundnuts, and Other Solids adds body and
texture to the sauces. Vegetable puree, or by pureeing mirepoix, tomato
paste, or other pureed or finely ground ingredients, such as groundnuts, can
add texture and flavor to the sauce.

Finishing Technique
1. Reduction
• The reduction technique is essential in finishing sauces. It becomes a useful
method of thickening. Reduction is the process of reducing liquid through
evaporation by simmering liquid to make it thicker and silkier. However, too
much reduction may result in a gluey or sticky texture of the sauce. Reduction
also leaves the sauce with a more pronounced and concentrated flavor.
2. Straining
• China cap or fine mesh chinois is usually used to strain sauces. This process is
used to remove any graininess produced, especially those thickened by roux.
Straining is necessary and is a very effective way to achieve a smooth and
lump-free sauce. It is done before final seasoning.
3. Deglazing
• This technique is associated with sautéing. To deglaze a pán, a liquid such as
wine or tock is added to the pan and reduced by one-half or three-fourths.
The added flavor from the pan drippings through the process of reduction is
then added to the final sauce.
4. Enriching with Butter and Cream
• Liaison performs a dual role. It can be a thickening agent, yet it can also give
extra richness and smoothness to the final sauce.
• Heavy cream has long been used in the classical kitchen to add flavor, and
richness. Adding heavy cream to basic béchamel sauce is one way to create
simple cream sauce.
• Butter is added to enrich sauces by providing richness, flavor, and shine to the
final product. The technique of introducing butter to finish the sauce is called
monte au beurre (mohntay oh burr), which means "to lift the butter."
5. Seasoning
• The last step in any recipe is to adjust seasoning. It is very important to check
seasoning before serving. Salt is the most prominent seasoning for sauces.
Lemon is also essential. Both emphasize the flavors and give excitement to
the taste buds. Cayenne and pepper are also important seasonings.
Wines such as Sherry and Madeira are also used as final flavoring, unlike with
red wines and white table wines which are cooked with the sauce. These wines
are added at the end of cooking because they are easily evaporated by heat.

Standard Quality for Sauces

1. Consistency and Body
• Sauce must be smooth and have no lumps. It should be thick to coat the food
lightly, but not too thick to become pasty or gluey.
2. Flavor
• Sauce must have a well-balanced flavor with distinctive taste.T he flavor
should enhance or complement the food to provide a delightful contrast.
3. Appearance
• The sauce should be smooth and shiny and have an appropriate color for its
type of sauce. (white for cream sauces, pale ivory for veloute, and deep
brown sauce for brown sauce).
 Leading Sauces and Their Derivatives
Leading Sauces
There are five leading sauces, which are sometimes called “Grand Sauces” or
“Mother Sauces”
Liquid Thickening Agent LEADING SAUCES
Milk +white roux =Bechamel
White Stock (Veal, +white roux or blond roux =Veloute (Veal Veloute,
Chicken, Fish) Chicken Velote, Fish Volute)
Brown Stock +brown roux =Espagnole or Brown Sauce
Tomato + Stock +(optional roux) as tomato =Tomato Sauce
puree is naturally thick
Butter +egg yolks =Hollandaise
 Secondary Leading Sauces and Small Sauces
Most of the leading sauces are rarely served as they are (béchamel, veloute, and
Espagnole); instead, adding flavoring ingredients to leading sauces can form
small (derivative) sauces also known as minor sauces or secondary sauces. They
are often used as foundations for small sauces because some leading sauces
cannot directly serve as base for some of the small sauces. The following are
secondary leading sauces and their derivatives.
1. Allemande Sauce
• Allemande sauce is a finished sauce made by a thickened veal veloute added
by lemon juice and liaison.
• The Allemande sauce is a compound sauce that can be used for making
various small sauces such as the poulette or aurora sauces.
2. Supreme Sauce
• Supreme sauce is a finished sauce made by enriching a chicken veloute sauce
with heavy cream. It is the base for creamy mushroom sauce and aurora
sauce.
3. White Wine Sauce
• White wine sauce is a finished sauce made by reducing white wine and then
simmering it in a basic fish veloute and some heavy cream. Some of the
sauces built from white wine sauce are the herb sauce, the shrimp sauce, or
the Venetian sauce.
4. Demi-glaze
• Demi-glaze is half the brown sauce and half brown stock reduced into half. It
is used as a fuse for small sauces because of its concentrated and fully
developed flavor.
5. Bearnaise
• Bearnaise is the child of the mother sauce hollandaise. Bearnaise is a sauce
made with clarified butter in egg yolks and white wine vinegar flavored with
herbs like tarragon and chervil. The ingredient used makes the only difference
between Bearnaise to hollandaise. Bearnaise's acidity is from white wine
rather than lemon juice used in hollandaise.
 Derivatives of Bechamel Sauce
Leading Sauces

Bechamel Sauce
Milk + White Roux
(+) Add other Ingredients
Cooked with chopped Cooked curry powder +
Grated gruyere cheese Chopped onion + fresh
Fresh cream onion and strained + onions + chopped
+ liaison cream
fresh cream tomatoes

Mornay Crème Soubise Oignons Indienne

(cheese sauce) (crean sauce) (onion sauce) (onion sauce) (curry sauce)

(=) Equals Deritative Sauces

 Derivatives of Veloute Sauce
Leading Sauce + Additional Ingredients = Secondary Leading + additional
Ingredients = Small Sauces
• Each veloute sauce (veal, chicken, and fish veloute) can form second leading
sauces such as Allemande sauce from veal veloute, supreme sauce from
chicken veloute, and white wine sauce from fish veloute.
• These secondary leading sauces also serve as foundation of small sauces such
as poulette, creamy mushroom, aurora, herb, shrimp, and Venetian sauces.
Creamy mushroom and aurora sauces can both be derived from veal and
chicken veloute. Thus, some small sauces such as Hungarian can be derived
directly from chicken and veal veloute, while Normandy sauce and Bercy
sauce can be directly derived from fish veloute.